Staff Reports
Looks like Cate Campbell’s reckless trash-talking against Team USA has come back to bite her in the swim cap. After a brief moment of glory when the Australian national team edged out America in the gold medal count at the World Swimming Championships, Campbell couldn’t resist poking the American bear. She called the Americans “sore losers” and gloated about not hearing “The Star-Spangled Banner” during a couple of medal ceremonies – a real class act, eh?
Well, fast forward a year and the tables have turned with the kind of poetic justice that only the sports gods can deliver. Campbell recently discovered she wouldn’t even make it to the starting block in Paris after finishing a dismal seventh place in her trials. No Paris, no showdown, and certainly no more trash-talking.
Michael Phelps Buries Australian Swimmer for Attack Against Team USA via @WestJournalism https://t.co/8asFmp7Wqt
— WhiteNoise🇺🇸HalB🇺🇸 (@ObsoleteAndSane) June 25, 2024
The cherry on top? Michael Phelps, the American swimming legend himself, had a few words of wisdom for Campbell. When shown her comments, Phelps remarked that if someone had said that to him, he’d be watching it daily as fuel to make them eat every last word. Though Campbell’s big mouth might have amused her Down Under mates for a moment, it apparently didn’t help improve her performance in the pool.
It seems Campbell’s body had other plans, calling it quits on her right before what she needed to make “Bring on Paris” a reality. Now, she’s effectively retired, leaving Team USA to battle it out with other competitors who might actually, you know, qualify.
Even without Campbell’s exaggerated bravado, the Olympic rivalry between the USA and Australia will fire up in Paris, but one thing’s for sure: the Americans have one less sore loser to deal with. As Phelps implied, in the world of high-stakes sports, sometimes it’s best to let your swimming do the talking.
