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“Tried Burning Off the Nerve”: Cate Campbell Narrates a Horrifying Swimming Tale That Almost Finished Her Career

Published 01/13/2024, 7:15 AM EST

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The Brisbane Aquatic Center is on the dearth of holding Australian trials for Olympic swimming events. The performance testing module is set to take place from 11-15th June. And this has sent a tremor among the swimmers to solidify their chances to be among the names of Emma McKeon, Cate Campbell, and Kaylee McKeown. However, these three are also on their way to the Paris Olympics‘ swimming contention. Several sneak peeks of their exercise routine have attested to that. 

One such came from the Olympic swimming legend, Cate Campbell, recently. The Instagram post showcased a varied dimension in the annals of her life that often stand out as a motivation. 

The swimming journey Cate Campbell loves to wear 

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On January 13, Cate Campbell shared a series of IG stories depicting her special swimming exercise for appearing in her fifth Olympics stint. However, the backstory of the 31-year-old swimmer’s special training program unraveled some not-so-known facts. Shedding light on those facts, the stories narrated, “It’s a long story… But here is the short version: I had a whiplash injury 15 years ago from diving off a broken starting block… I didn’t know it all the time, but this was the beginning of chronic neck instability… it got so bad, that in the year before the Rio 2016 Olympics, I had 4 cortisone injections into my neck…”. But that was not enough.

 In the later story, the jubilant swimmer added, “after Rio, the neck pain came back. And I told my physio: we either have to fix this or I’m going to retire…” Eventually, they also “tried burning off the nerve” by sticking a needle into the neck and heating it up to burn the nerve. However, exercise modifications finally saved Cate Campbell’s swimming participation chance. Meanwhile, the exercise needed setting the head in special gear to move the Olympic medalist’s neck in a certain way. Since then, the Australian swimmer has managed herself with success in both physical and competitive swimming perspectives. 

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One last Olympic chance 

After winning gold in the free relay in the Tokyo Olympics, Cate Campbell raised a participation chance in Fukuoka last year. However, at the last moment, the swimming list missed the former world record holder in the 100 free. But that won’t be Campbell’s case in the upcoming Olympic trial for Australia. 

“Someone Had To Stop USA”: Cate Campbell Yet Again Slams American Swimmers Over Recently Released List

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Quashing her retirement chance, the swimming legend conceded to worldaquatics.com, “It will definitely be my last Trials, and I am not sure if I will be looking forward to it or dreading is the right word.” On that estimate, the latest exercise videos might weigh in on Cate Campbell’s participation chance one last time. 

Watch this story: America’s Swimming Favourite Caeleb Dressel Embarks on a New Journey With a Hilarious 8-Word Joke

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Written by:

Prasun Chakrabarty

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One take at a time

Hello there! I am Prasun Chakrabarty, an Olympics sports writer at EssentiallySports. Being an adrenaline junkie, I take a keen interest in creating insights about various avenues of the sporting realm. As an ardent swimming enthusiast, I take inspiration from the Baltimore Bullet Michael Phelps and love to create insights on various nooks and crannies around the turquoise turf.
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Edited by:

BHUJAYA RAY CHOWDHURY