Australian Sprint Star Cate Campbell Set For Shoulder Surgery Next Week

Photo by Delly Carr

MELBOURNE, Australia, August 25. SHORTLY after a dominating performance in the sprint freestyles at the Pan Pacific championships that included tying the fastest swim in a textile suit in the 50 free, Cate Campbell announced that she will be undergoing shoulder surgery in a week.

“I’ve been keeping it under wraps because I’m not one to complain or make excuses but now that I’m finished you probably won’t be seeing me for the rest of the year,” Campbell said in an article in the Melbourne Herald-Sun. “If the Olympics were next year I’d hold off definitely, but I can’t struggle through another two years with a bad shoulder.”

The article went on to say that Campbell would be out of the water for at least three weeks, but could be sidelined for up to three months. That means Campbell won’t be at this December’s short course world championships, but could still be in form to qualify at the long course world championships next year. If that doesn’t happen, she said, it’s still plenty to time to get back into shape for the 2016 Olympics.

Campbell said the shoulder pain had been nagging her for a while, but she trained and raced through the pain. She posted a win in the 100 freestyle at the Commonwealth Games in July and was part of Australia’s 400 free relay that set the world record. She won the 50 and 100 freestyles at the Pan Pacific championships last week and helped the Aussies win the 400 freestyle relay and the 400 medley relay.

In that 50 freestyle, Campbell posted a 23.96 to tie Fran Halsall for the Commonwealth record and the fastest time in a textile suit.

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