![\"Cate](\"https:\/\/www.arenawaterinstinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/cate-campbell-women-and-success-across-the-generations.jpg\")
<\/a>Fast forward to 2008 and Shane\u2019s fellow Antipodean Cate also enjoyed teenage success, only 16 when she won double bronze in Beijing.<\/p>\nIllness and hip injuries, which eventually required surgery, threatened to derail the young swimmer whose misfortune was encapsulated when she was struck by pancreatitis during the 2012 Olympics.<\/p>\n
She still won gold as part of the sprint freestyle relay in London and a stellar 2013 followed which saw Cate claim her first individual global title in the 100m freestyle at the World Championships in Barcelona as well as three silver medals.<\/p>\n
Here the two talk about the women who have influenced their lives, the perception of females in sport, challenges they have faced and hair, beauty and diet.<\/p>\n
INFLUENTIAL WOMEN<\/h2>\n
Shane credits four women with having played a major role in her life as she grew up in the 1960s in Brisbane and Sydney \u2013 older sister Lynette, mother Shirley and Ursula Carlile, the wife of her coach Forbes.<\/p>\n
Another was Pippi Longstocking, the character created by author Astrid Lindgren.<\/p>\n
Shane explains: \u201cSisters can push each other and sometimes there is rivalry but Lynette was someone I could get brave with.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, things like riding a bike, climbing a tree a little bit higher, swimming in the deep end, catching the waves, going out beyond the breaking waves.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there are images in literature and culture that girls aren\u2019t physically active, that is a big thing that has changed in sport in Australia at least.<\/p>\n
\u201cGirls are allowed to be muscular and allowed to sweat from physical exertions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shane\u2019s mother Shirley guided her daughter through the consequences of her burgeoning success.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said there is this thing called noblesse oblige: because you are successful you have a responsibility to be gracious in your success and polite and obliging. That was very sobering and very helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ursula Carlile was always there in the background for Shane, someone to relate to pre and post-race.<\/p>\n
Longstocking may seem an unusual choice but not for an independent girl growing up in a male-dominated world.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe would go against traditional norms, nothing was a hindrance to her, she would always find a way around problems,\u201d explains Shane.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think as a child particularly I modelled myself on her. Breaking through the norms of the delicate girl, the compliant.<\/p>\n
\u201cAustralia is still rather misogynistic but back in my day in swimming it was men first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cate echoes Shane by choosing her mother and sister \u2013 fellow London Olympian Bronte \u2013 as the women who have had the greatest influence on her career.<\/p>\n
She says: \u201cMy mum because of her constant support and her willingness to lose a lot of sleep in order to drive me to and from training.<\/p>\n
\u201cBronte because she pushes me in training, supports me during competition and is a fun room-mate.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old points to another Australian, eight-time Olympic medallist Susie O\u2019Neill.<\/p>\n
\u201dI admire anyone who can swim a 200m butterfly but Susie did it with grace and sportsmanship.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is the complete package, a tough competitor and a great role model.\u201d<\/p>\n
WOMEN IN SPORT<\/h2>\n
In recent times communication has been transformed with social media ever more pervasive.<\/p>\n
When Shane was growing up, there was no such instant access to news although she points to an ongoing imbalance in the reporting of men\u2019s and women\u2019s sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was hard to find stories in the newspaper \u2013 and still is \u2013 about women in sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a certain way of reporting about what women did which was more about her beauty and grace rather than her grunt and musculature and energy output.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are less barriers to achieve but the way it is reported is still quite demeaning and very narrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cate believes swimming may be a sport where sex is less of an issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn swimming I believe that female swimmers are pretty much equal with the men.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn other sports this is not the case, but society is gradually changing and female teams sports are gaining more popularity and notoriety.\u201d<\/p>\n
CHALLENGES<\/h2>\n
When Shane competed in Munich, she was one of only 1,100 women alongside more than 6,000 men.<\/p>\n
That went by unnoticed by the teenager.<\/p>\n
Instead, the only sense of isolation came because of the attention she commanded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was very much alone, that is how I felt trying to manage this and my parents were helpless because they weren\u2019t around me all the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I got third in the 100m freestyle, the Australian press had their deadlines and they wanted to interview me but I had to go for a drug test and do a urine sample. I couldn\u2019t pee and just had to sit around in the doping room.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy that time the deadlines had gone and the newspapers were really off me because I didn\u2019t appear and they thought I was sulking because I got third and not first and it was really bad PR.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt probably would have continued but what happened was the (terrorist attack on the) Israelis. The focus then became quite different.\u201d<\/p>\n
A review following the London Olympics concluded there had been \u201cculturally toxic incidents\u201d among the Australia team.<\/p>\n
While this would appear to be a difficult situation to contend with, Cate says: \u201cI don’t believe that there was a toxic environment in London, there were some mis-handled situations, but I did not find the atmosphere toxic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was more publicity surrounding the men’s relay team, but as we were in the Olympic Village, we were very sheltered from it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the end we are the Australian swim team, bound together, despite our differences, by our love of swimming and our desire to represent our country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cate has also had to contend with circumstances outside her control and she pays tribute to her family, friends and coach who kept her positive and motivated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew that they loved me whether or not I performed in the pool and that they would support me no matter what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
HAIR & BEAUTY<\/h2>\n
There is a real contrast between the eras in which the pair competed with an ever-growing emphasis on appearance.<\/p>\n
A swimming cap protected Shane\u2019s hair which became thin and bleached in the chlorine but goggles were rarely used, necessitating the use of eye drops.<\/p>\n
She used baby oil on her legs and arms and a small amount of face cream to counteract dryness.<\/p>\n
Cate: \u201cBecause we are a much more image-conscious society than we used to be, hair and beauty have become defining factors in an athlete’s desirability.<\/p>\n
\u201cFortunately in swimming, a cap and goggles are a great equaliser – I have yet to see anyone pull them off!<\/p>\n
DIET & NUTRITION<\/h2>\n
Shane: \u201cI had a very good diet with lots of fresh vegetables and fruit and always had home-cooked meals with fresh ingredients and very little salt and sugar.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took Vitamin B and C and wheatgerm oil.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t have drinks on the side of the pool.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a drink when we got out and maybe a snack \u2013 that\u2019s because we were hungry not because we had been recommended it for muscle recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cate: \u201cThere is a much greater emphasis on diet and nutrition and therefore on your physique.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhilst this has had a positive effect in regards to an increase in knowledge, it has also had a negative effect; you are now judged on how you look and what you eat instead just on what you achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
OVERVIEW Australians Shane Gould and Cate Campbell may be divided by the generations but they are united in achieving success on the world stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1284,"featured_media":16846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10068],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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