Bronte Campbell

Bronte Campbell (born 14 May 1994) is a Malawi-born, Australian retired competitive swimmer. A four time Olympian, Campbell is a triple Olympic gold medallist and a former World Champion in the 50 and 100 m freestyle, having won both titles in 2015.

Her older sister Cate is also a competitive swimmer, and in 2012, the two became the first Australian siblings on the same Olympic swimming team since 1972. They are the first Australian sisters to ever compete within the same swimming event, also having claimed gold together in the 4 x 100 m freestyle relay in 2016 and 2021.

Early life Campbell was born in the city of Blantyre in Malawi. She is the second of five children born to Eric (an accountant) and Jenny (a nurse) Campbell. She has an older sister, Cate, two younger sisters and a younger brother, Jessica, Abigail and Hamish. Hamish has severe cerebral palsy and requires around-the-clock care. She shares a birthday with Hamish, with Hamish being four years younger. Jenny used to be a synchronised swimmer and taught her four daughters to swim.

Career

Campbell's family moved from Malawi to Australia in 2001 and she and Cate joined the Indooroopilly Swimming Club in Brisbane that same year. Their coach at Commercial, Simon Cusack, continues to coach both sisters.

In 2009, Campbell won gold in the 50 metre freestyle at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival. In 2011, she won gold in the same event at the 2011 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Lima, Peru.

2012 Campbell competed in the women's 50 meter freestyle at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She and her sister Cate swam in the same heat, finishing second and third and qualifying for the semi-final in ninth and tenth place, respectively.

2013 At the 2013 Australian Swimming Championships she won silver in the 50 and 100 metre freestyle events finishing behind sister Cate in both and qualified for the 2013 World Aquatics Championships. At the World Championships, she teamed up with Cate, Emma McKeon and Alicia Coutts in the 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay where they won the silver medal, finishing 0.12 of a second behind the United States.

2014 Competing at the 2014 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) in Doha, she won two silver medals, one in the 50 metre freestyle event (timing 23.62) behind Ranomi Kromowidjojo, and the other in the 4 × 100 metre medley relay behind the Danish team. She finished fourth (timing 51.65) in the finals of the 100-metre freestyle event, behind Femke Heemskerk, Ranomi Kromowidjojo and Sarah Sjöström.

2015

At the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, she won three gold medals and one bronze. She finished first in the 100 metre freestyle event (in 52.52), beating Sarah Sjöström and Cate Campbell, and the 50 metre freestyle event (in 24.12), beating Ranomi Kromowidjojo and Sarah Sjöström.

She also won gold in the 4×100 metre freestyle relay, beating the Dutch and US teams by a comfortable lead, and a bronze medal in the 4 × 100 metre medley relay behind the Chinese and Swedish teams.

2016 At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Campbell represented Australia in both the 50 m and 100 m freestyle, as well as the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay (in which they came first and set a new world record). Despite being the reigning world champion in the 50m and 100m freestyle, she did not win a medal in these events, finishing seventh and fourth, respectively in the finals.

2018

2021 Campbell starred in Head Above Water, a documentary series focusing on four Australian swimmers: Ian Thorpe, Kyle Chalmers, Cody Simpson, and Campbell herself. Campbell qualified for her third Olympics in Tokyo. She won gold in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay and bronze in the 4x100m mixed medley relay.

2022

In May 2022, Campbell appeared as a contestant on the sixth season of The Celebrity Apprentice Australia.

2024

After an 18 month break from swimming following the Tokyo Games, Campbell returned to the pool under new coach Shannon Rollason in Canberra. In June 2024, she qualified for her fourth Olympic Games in Paris in the Women's 4 x 100m Freestyle relay team, which went on to win gold in Paris. Campbell become only the fifth Australian swimmer to compete at four Olympics.

Personal life Campbell has completed her Business Degree at QUT Queensland University of Technology, majoring in Public Relations. She has also launched a start-up sustainable activewear business called Earthletica, which aims to create high quality activewear that is good for the planet.

In March 2026, Campbell married Benfield Lainchbury.

She is also a poet, writing poems and reading them out to the swim team before a competition to give them motivation.

In June 2026, Campbell announced her retirement from competitive swimming. 2 4x100 m freestyle relay (2)

2016 Summer Olympics Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

3 4x100 m freestyle relay (3)

2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Queensland

4 4x100 m freestyle relay (4)

2020 Summer Olympics Tokyo, Japan

split 53.15 (1st leg); with Melanie Schlanger (2nd leg), Emma McKeon (3rd leg), Cate Campbell (4th leg) split 52.15 (3rd leg); with Emma McKeon (1st leg), Brittany Elmslie (2nd leg), Cate Campbell (4th leg) split 52.99 (2nd leg); with Shayna Jack (1st leg), Emma McKeon (3rd leg), Cate Campbell (4th leg) split 53.01 (1st leg); with Meg Harris (2nd leg), Emma McKeon (3rd leg), Cate Campbell (4th leg)

Short course metres

split 53.26 (3rd leg); with Madison Wilson (1st leg), Brittany Elmslie (2nd leg), Cate Campbell (4th leg) split 52.15 (3rd leg); with Emma McKeon (1st leg), Brittany Elmslie (2nd leg), Cate Campbell (4th leg) split 53.01 (1st leg); with Meg Harris (2nd leg), Emma McKeon (3rd leg), Cate Campbell (4th leg)