Cate Campbell says lack of pay contributes to swimmers' mental health struggles after Mollie O'Callaghan's teary admission
Australian swimming legend Cate Campbell says a lack of funding is partly to blame for many of the sport's stars struggling with mental health issues.
Campbell's comments come after five-time Olympic gold medallist Mollie O'Callaghan broke down at the Australian swimming trials when discussing the weight of expectation she faces coming into meets.
O'Callaghan is one of several swimmers who have found it tough to back up after starring at the Paris Olympics last year.
Unlike athletes in most sports, swimmers make almost all their income from sponsorships.
While the sport's top stars can make significant amounts through endorsements, others struggle to make ends meet and therefore are required to compete more often, leading to burnout.
"We do not pay these athletes enough," Campbell told ABC Sport Daily.
"We do not pay them enough for them to be able to sit back and relax in between their training sessions.
"We have athletes who are working and studying, trying to make ends meet. That grind is relentless, so, when you come to the end of a four-year cycle and you're facing the prospect of another one, it's no wonder you're exhausted, it's no wonder you're burnt out.
"Then you know you have to go and compete and be the best in the world if you want to be able to afford your mortgage, if you want to be able to afford your rent.
"These athletes are being paid tens of thousands of dollars, not hundreds of thousands, not millions, to be the best in the world. It is exhausting and what you are seeing is the toll that it's taking on them."
Campbell, who notched eight medals across four separate Olympic campaigns, said the sport had always been rife with athletes who struggled mentally.
"It's always been this bad. I think people are just feeling safe and empowered enough to talk about it," she said.
"It has always been a challenge. It has always been exhausting, but it was something that wasn't spoken about and wasn't acknowledged, and that is why we saw people retire (prematurely)."
Campbell used the retirement of legendary swimmer Ian Thorpe at just 24 as a prime example of a swimmer retiring early due to the stresses surrounding the sport.
Campbell suggested she would like to see backing of swimmers come from "corporate Australia".
"Once every four years these athletes make everyone proud to be Australian, and yet in the years in between, the years where we're competing at a World Championships or a Commonwealth Games, that support and that focus drops off," she said.
"I would love to see corporate Australia step up and be able to pay these athletes what they're worth through personal sponsorships, but even that goes to your top two per cent of your athletes.
"I would love to see some more support for the sport more broadly so we can have grassroots programs coming through.
"It is difficult. It is challenging. We're not on TV every week like the NRL or AFL. We're on TV once every four years where everyone is switched on, but we do have competitions in between now and then.
"We want to bring swimming back to being one of the premier sports.
"When I was a little kid, I can remember watching the World Championships every year because it was on a free-to-air broadcast, so we need that to continue."
The Australian swimming trials will conclude in Adelaide on Saturday.
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Cody Walker (hamstring) also failed to finish in his injury comeback, the playmaker's latest soft tissue complaint adding salt to the Rabbitohs' wounds. The Rabbitohs started brilliantly when Latrell Mitchell sliced through and somehow offloaded for Jack Wighton's try. It was all the Dolphins after that, Jeremy Marshall-King raiding from dummy-half to score, then Katoa exploding through the line and producing a no-look assist for Tabuai-Fidow. The pair combined again in similar fashion, with only a desperate Jamie Humphries tripping up the Dolphins fullback as he pinned his ears back for the line. Herbie Farnworth had more joy, though, finding open space before Katoa floated a pass perfectly for Nikorima to score. Katoa tantalised again with a pinpoint pass that dragged the Rabbitohs' defensive line out of shape, Farnworth's quick offload setting up Jake Averillo. 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"We just lost control of it, totally," Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett said. "This season, the challenges have been on our doorstep everyday. "I'm not frustrated by it, not angry by it. "Just accept the reality of it and right now trying to build a team that believes in itself and we're not there yet." Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow has delivered a fullback masterclass with a four-try haul in the Dolphins' 50-28 defeat of South Sydney. The No.1 ran amok in his 100th NRL game as the Dolphins reached 50 points for the third time in four games and consigned the Rabbitohs to a fifth straight loss. Halfback Isaiya Katoa had four try assists, while Tabuai-Fidow's display was timely on the day incumbent Queensland fullback Kalyn Ponga was ruled out of next Wednesday's State of Origin decider with a foot injury. Tabuai-Fidow played wing in the Maroons' series-levelling victory but, after 11 tries in nine Origin games on the flanks, has done all he can to show coach Billy Slater he's ready to wear the No.1. "I know he'd do a great job," Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf said of his man potentially wearing the Queensland No.1. "But that wouldn''t have been his motivation tonight; he's just such a genuine guy I think he wasn't really happy with himself last week (in a loss to Newcastle). "I could tell he wanted to make amends for that. Playing 100 games, coming off a loss, playing in front of his family - that's what he'd be concerned about." Victory pushed the Dolphins (8-8) into the top eight but came at a cost, with Kodi Nikorima limping off with an apparent hamstring injury. Cody Walker (hamstring) also failed to finish in his injury comeback, the playmaker's latest soft tissue complaint adding salt to the Rabbitohs' wounds. The Rabbitohs started brilliantly when Latrell Mitchell sliced through and somehow offloaded for Jack Wighton's try. It was all the Dolphins after that, Jeremy Marshall-King raiding from dummy-half to score, then Katoa exploding through the line and producing a no-look assist for Tabuai-Fidow. The pair combined again in similar fashion, with only a desperate Jamie Humphries tripping up the Dolphins fullback as he pinned his ears back for the line. Herbie Farnworth had more joy, though, finding open space before Katoa floated a pass perfectly for Nikorima to score. Katoa tantalised again with a pinpoint pass that dragged the Rabbitohs' defensive line out of shape, Farnworth's quick offload setting up Jake Averillo. Nikorima limped off but the Dolphins weren't done, Averillo trickling a kick back in-field that was scooped up by Tabuai-Fidow to create a 30-6 halftime lead. The No.1 completed his hat-trick when he picked up another loose ball spilled in a marking contest to seemingly kill the contest with 30 minutes still on the clock. But Walker stepped through to create a try for Tallis Duncan and stop the rot, and the visitors had their tails up when that pair combined again to give the back-rower a double before Walker felt for his leg. Tabuai-Fidow settled it once and for all, stripping Davvy Moale on his own 30-metre line, darting sideways into space, then cruising uninterrupted for a fourth try. Wighton and Moale still had time for four-pointers, while rookie Aublix Tawha was reported and earnt the ire of Mitchell after tackling him before he'd caught a high ball. The Dolphins had the final say, Kurt Donoghoe snatching a Humphries intercept as the Dolphins raised the bat again. "We just lost control of it, totally," Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett said. "This season, the challenges have been on our doorstep everyday. "I'm not frustrated by it, not angry by it. "Just accept the reality of it and right now trying to build a team that believes in itself and we're not there yet."
