Cate Campbell Returns to Winners List With Aid of Chinese Herbal Tea

By Ian Hanson, Swimming World's Australian Correspndent

BRISBANE. Australia, December 13: Swimming in Australia continues to dominate headlines in this sports mad country that comes alive every four years when you start talking Olympics.

The official start to the competitive swimming season has only been alive and kicking for four days at the Queensland Championships in Brisbane and already we've seen the:

TRIPLE Olympic champion Stephanie Rice admitted into a Melbourne hospital for an arthroscopy on her troublesome shoulder that forced her out of the Championships and threatens to curtail her Olympic Trials preparation and program.

EMERGENCE of Gold Coast teenager Cameron McEvoy, who has his eyes on a London prize after winning the 200m freestyle and finishing third in the 100m to James Magnussen last night in a time that eclipsed Ian Thorpe's Australian 17 years record set in 2000.

RETURN to the pool from sickness and health of powerful backstroker Emily Seebohm with her 100m back time of 59.37, as well as wins in the 200m IM (2:13.37) followed by her 200m backstroke win last night in 2:10.59.

FIRST 100m freestyle appearance of World Champion James Magnussen who started his campaign in a handy 48.63 over fellow World Championship relay gold medallist Matt Targett (49.15) with McEvoy (49.19 – Aust 17 years rec) third.

SIGHT of one of the comeback boys Michael Klim standing poolside watching the 100m freestyle final last night after he fell foul of the "visitors rule" which saw him unable to start in the final after his impressive 50.44 heat swim (which had ranked him 7th).

AND finally to the remarkable return last night of Beijing Olympic 50m freestyle bronze medallist Cate Campbell, who has continued to soar after an extraordinary battle with health issues which threatened her international career.

Campbell showed in winning the 100m freestyle in 53.85 that she is well and truly back on track to fulfil her potential at a second Olympics in London.

Campbell has been struck down with glandular fever and post-viral fatigue as doctors and health experts banged their heads together to try and come up with a successful formula to cure her ailments which has kept her out of major international swimming for two years.

This is the girl that had to overcome hip surgery so she could at least do the work required to swim two laps and not just the one which saw her win bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2009 Rome World Championships.

The tall, Malawi-born Campbell, who learnt to swim in the same pond as a rogue hippopotamus, had been a welcome addition to Australia's 4x100m freestyle relay stocks along with the likes of Libby Trickett, Alice Mills and Melanie Schlanger, who she dipped out last night.

And apart from the hard yards under the careful and watchful eyes of coach Simon Cusack, Campbell told The Australian Newspaper's Nicole Jeffrey in a recent interview that "Chinese herbal tea" had played a part in her recovery.

The Brisbane-based herbalist gave her a tea that tasted "so bad, you are almost gagging" but as she explained to Jeffrey it appears to have helped.

"I swear he goes out into some enchanted forest, collecting bark and twigs to make it," Campbell said. "I have to have two cups a day, which is not a great way to start and finish the day, but it feels like it's working," Campbell said.

And on her career path? "I have come to terms with everything. I think I needed time to let the remedies work, time for me to accept what had happened and have patience."

It just might be the magic potion that will help her spearhead an exciting Australian women's team that is starting to gather steam just four days into the season.

Fingers crossed that Rice can shrug off her shoulder problem and get back into training in time for the Trials in Adelaide in March so she can join them.

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