- Cate Campbell gets surgery on her shoulder
- Aussie Olympian posted message from hospital
- Campbell is one Australia’s greatest swimmers
Australian pool queen Cate Campbell has undergone one final operation on her left shoulder after calling time on her illustrious swimming career.
The four-time gold medallist crashed out of qualifying for the Paris Olympics in July and decided afterwards to hang up the goggles for good.
The 32-year-old is adjusting to life out of the pool, but her body still suffers from the stress she has placed upon it over the years.
Campbell booked herself in for shoulder surgery on Monday.
‘The last six months of my career really took a toll on my body,’ Campbell posted to Instagram.
‘My mind was saying ‘yes’ but my body was saying ‘no’. Nevertheless, I am glad I saw things through to the end.
‘I’m grateful to my medical team for getting me to the finish line and I’m thankful to have their support through this next stage of recovery.
‘We had hoped that time off would allow my shoulder to settle down — and it was much better.
‘But, as I want to lead an active healthy lifestyle full of ocean swimming, learning to surf and lifting kids, we thought it best to fix up the lingering problems now.
‘For shoulders that have done over 20,000,000 strokes they’re in remarkably good condition.
‘Looking forward to hopefully my last stint of injury rehab and getting back to throwing my hands in the air like I just don’t care soon.’
Last week, Campbell noted that she’s noticed big changes to her body since retiring.
‘I’m finding out what my body naturally looks like for the first time in my adult life,’ Campbell posted.
‘I’m excited to meet her.’
Cate enjoyed a highly successful career with her goggles on, picking up her first Olympic bronze medals in her debut games in Beijing back in 2008 as a 16-year-old.
Over the next three Games, she graced the dais frequently, snaring four gold medals and a silver.
Campbell finished her glittering career as one of the greatest Australian swimmers of all time.
