Excellence is never an accident.

It is the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent execution … and in the case of Bronte Campbell, an incredible capacity to endure pain.

Chronic pain and an odometer revving at 19,000 strokes a week saw Bronte spend 18 months out of the pool after the Tokyo Olympics and contemplate retirement.

Her stellar career had already garnered three Olympic medals including two gold; five World Championship golds, five Commonwealth Games gold medals, eight World Cup golds and a junior world title to name a sprinkling.

Only for that success to also generate shoulder, neck, hip and elbow pain … retirement seemed the perfect panacea.

But curiosity got the better of the Malawi-born swimmer who declared in April 2023, she would have one more crack at making the Dolphins team for Paris, in what would be her fourth Olympic Games.

“There’s still a little part of me that thought, ‘I want to see what can happen if I apply everything I’ve ever learnt in my career and see where that gets me to’,” she said.

“That break means all my injuries are in a good state. The main driver for me, apart from the fact I love it, is the curiosity of what might happen this time around. If I didn’t scratch that itch, I’d probably regret it.”

After the shock of returning to early morning wake-up calls and long hours of training, she knew she had made the right call the first time she stood on the blocks.

“I love that moment, when you get up on the blocks and it all goes quiet just before the gun goes,” Bronte said.

“When people ask me why I came back; it’s for this. When you get to test yourself and see what you’re capable of.”

And what the former 100m freestyle world champion and triple Olympic medallist has shown – is she is still fast, and still resilient.

A four-centimetre calf tear had Bronte racing the clock to be fit for Australian Selection Trials, but the 30-year-old secured her ticket to Paris with a fourth in the 100m final and a spot in the 4x100m relay.

Bronte was part of the Dolphins leadership team from 2016-21 and in addition to her work with team culture, as then President of the Australian Swimmers’ Association worked tirelessly to improve athletes’ financial stability as well as growing the sport of swimming.

The Sydney-based athlete was a key figure in the drafting and signing of a Memorandum of Understanding that now sees athletes receive a share of Swimming Australia’s commercial revenue from sponsorship, broadcast rights and licensing. This was the first agreement of its kind for Australia’s aquatic stars.

POD POP UP STATS: Bronte Campbell and older sister Cate were the first Australian sisters to compete in the same event at the same Olympics at the London 2012 Games and Bronte was only the third swimmer in history to take the 50m and 100m freestyle double at a World Championships when she won in 2015.

In 2024, Bronte co-founded Australian active-wear brand Earthletica, which focuses on innovation and sustainability to support a healthy planet.