The Australian and the US swimming rivalry has taken yet another interesting turn. As the Australian Olympic Team Trials concluded, there were a couple of heartbreaks. Favorites to qualify in the men’s and women’s divisions, Cody Simpson and Cate Campbell failed to get their names in the top two. Competing in Brisbane, Campbell, and Simpson finished in seventh and fifth places, respectively. And while this result was unexpected for Australia, the bittersweet rivalry with the US once again comes to the forefront.
The USA vs Australia rivalry was in full glory when both teams met at the World Championships in 2023. Displaying a sublime performance, the Australian team clinched 13 gold medals, while the US fell behind significantly with only 7 golds to their name. However, Australia was in for a shock when the World Aquatics named the US as the number 1 team of the tournament due to their superior medal count of 38 over Australia’s 25. And this is where things began to go horribly wrong.
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Utterly frustrated with the scoring system, 4x Olympian, Cate Campbell lashed out at the US Team. Appearing in a news interview, Campbell termed the US team as “sore losers” and vouched to beat them come the Paris Olympics. Unfortunately, that is not possible at the moment and it seems that her “loser” comment has come back to bite her. And this was not the first time Campbell had taken shots at America.
US chances elevated as Cate Campbell’s challenge thwarted
While Ian Thorpe was an absolute powerhouse for Australia, the US came up with their own answer- Michael Phelps. And ever since then, the two swimming powerhouses have been at each other’s throats. Continuing the rivalry, Cate Campbell seems to have taken a special dislike towards the US. Apart from her “sore loser” dig, Campbell also exuded sarcasm while mentioning how the Americans loved to be the best.
She said, “For goodness sake, when they have their baseball championships, they call it the World Series when it’s just America [and Canada]. When they’re the Super Bowl champions, they say they’re the champions of the world. You’re the champions of America.” But now while she is out, the entire dynamic is about to change.
Cate Campbell has been an icon when it comes to Australian swimming. Apart from her four Olympic golds, her total tally of 24 gold medals speaks volumes about her dominance in the waters. Add to that the exclusion of Emma McKeon and Olivia Wunsch. And without these threats, the US would definitely breathe easy. But the Australian team is still very much a strong contender. Come Paris, the onus will be on Australia to prove whether Campbell’s claim of the US being a “sore loser” is true or not.
