Bronte Campbell has spent the better part of two decades organising her entire life around swimming. But as the deadline she’d set herself quietly arrived, the answer became clear: it was time to retire.
Speaking exclusively to Woman’s Day, Bronte opened up about closing the chapter on her swimming career, the sustainable activewear brand she’s pouring everything into, her dreamy wedding – and why reality TV is probably not her calling.
THE DECISION TO WALK AWAY
Bronte had given herself an 18-month window to decide whether she’d chase a spot at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. She mapped it out carefully with training plans, business projections, and long conversations with the people closest to her.
“There is no correct decision other than the one that you’re willing to pursue wholeheartedly,” she says. “And swimming needs absolutely all of my being to be in it. If there’s even a part of me thinking ‘I don’t want to be here’, then it’s probably not the best place for me to be.”
In the end, it wasn’t a dramatic realisation so much as a gradual one. Life outside the pool – her marriage, friendships, and business – had simply become too important to put on hold.
“I have been organising my life around swimming since I was seven years old,” she says. “And maybe it’s time to have another organising feature.”
That life outside the pool now includes a podcast, Campbells and Co, with her sister – fellow retired swimmer Cate Campbell – who stepped away from the sport two years ago. Where their relationship was once structured around shared training sessions and 5am starts, it’s now something they actively choose.
“It’s nice to choose to spend time together,” Bronte says. “We’re still incredibly close – it’s just different now.”
A CAREER WORTH CELEBRATING
Bronte’s career was remarkable not just for its achievements, but for its sheer staying power – she competed at the elite level for over a decade while managing a string of serious injuries.
To her, the crown jewel is the 2015 World Championships, where she won gold in both the 50m and 100m freestyle within days of each other.
“Standing on top of that podium and knowing that you are the fastest person in the world is pretty incredible,” she reflects. “And to get to do that not once, but twice within a few days – it was a big, big breakthrough moment for me.”
But she’s just as proud of simply still being there, year after year.
“I’ve been injured for over 10 years and still found a way to have success,” she says. “It would have been a lot easier and a lot less painful to walk away. But I found a way.”
ALL IN ON EARTHLETICA
With retirement official, Bronte is now fully focused on her sustainable activewear label, Earthletica – and the issue driving it is bigger than most people realise.
“There are 42 million tonnes of waste created in the activewear industry every year,” she says. “I live right next to an ocean I love and swim in almost every single day. The idea of what the world is going to look like if we continue the way we’re continuing now – it didn’t really sit right with me.”
What surprised her most in her research wasn’t just the waste, but what’s actually inside the clothes. Earthletica tests all fabrics to be free of over a thousand harmful chemicals – the highest global standard currently available.
“Most activewear is just made straight from new plastic,” she says. “And then what happens when it ends its useful life? It ends up in landfill and doesn’t degrade for hundreds of years.”
But sustainability isn’t the only thing driving her. Bronte is equally passionate about designing specifically for women – something she says the industry has long overlooked.
Just six per cent of all sports science research is conducted on female bodies – a statistic she finds both staggering and motivating.
“We’ve been treating activewear with really harsh chemicals for years and just thinking, ‘that’s okay, that’s totally fine’,” she says. “No. We deserve a little bit more attention to detail. You’re not just taking research that’s been done on male bodies and assuming it’s going to be the same for women.”
She’s also quick to take the guilt off consumers. The industry, she says, needs to do the work – not the people buying the product.
“Once you know better, you do better. That’s something I really strongly believe in.”
A WEDDING TO REMEMBER
Away from the pool and the business, Bronte also recently celebrated a major personal milestone in March: her wedding to Benfield Lainchbury. And in true Bronte Campbell fashion, she made sure it had a twist.
“The biggest highlight was going for a swim in the middle of the ceremony,” she laughs. “Half the guests thought I was joking. I mean – why would I joke about that?”
She describes sitting just past the break, looking back at friends in the water, people along the beach, and guests watching from the venue balcony above.
“I turned to my husband and said, ‘I think this is the best thing we’ve ever done,'” she says. “It rejuvenated the party – everyone went back inside and danced for another six hours.”
A mid-wedding swim may be unconventional, but it’s very on brand for Bronte.
LIFE AFTER THE POOL
As for reality TV (Bronte appeared on The Amazing Race Australia last year), she’s honest about where she stands.
“Reality TV is not my happy place,” she admits. “As a competitive person, it is probably not my favourite place to be.”
The people, though, were a highlight. Her fellow castmates have been messaging her with congratulations since her retirement announcement, and she says that’s what she takes from every experience.
“There’s always these interesting people you get to collect along the way,” she says. “That’s the most important bit.”
For now, Bronte’s focus is on Earthletica, her health (she’s currently rehabbing a ruptured ACL), and enjoying mornings that don’t start at 4am.
As for what success looks like in her next chapter, Bronte says: “It’s got to be worth it regardless of just one result or one outcome. ‘Did I do everything I could, with integrity and wholeheartedness?’ If I can say I did that – that is success.”
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
