Bronte Campbell has retired from swimming at 32 and is moving full-time into Earthletica, the women’s activewear brand she co-founded and runs as chief executive officer. The Australian relayed that the decision took a long time, but she now sees the business as a more meaningful and exciting commitment.
Campbell’s Olympic Exit
Campbell leaves the pool with three Olympic gold medals from the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay, won in 2016, 2021 and 2024. She was part of the Australian relay team in Rio, Tokyo and again in 2024, and she also won individual world titles in the 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle at the 2015 world championships in Russia.
Her decision came after she and her coach had mapped out what a two-year lead-in to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games would look like if she kept racing. Instead, she chose to step away and put her energy into Earthletica, which uses recycled or organic fabrics.
Adelaide Still Stands Out
For Campbell, the race that still means the most came at the 2012 Australian Olympic trials in Adelaide, when she finished second in the 50m freestyle behind her older sister Cate and booked a place on the London Olympic team. She called it “It was that first realisation of a dream coming true,” and said, “It’s not my biggest achievement by any stretch, but it was 100 per cent my favourite race and my favourite feeling I’ve ever had after a race.”
She added, “It was just absolute joy,” and said the memory “has honestly sustained me for my career. I’ve always loved that feeling and wanted to get close to it again.” Campbell also reflected that if she spoke to her seven-year-old self, the one who dreamed of going to one Olympic Games, the scale of what followed would have seemed impossible.
Earthletica Takes Priority
That future now belongs to Earthletica. Campbell said going all in on the venture felt “more meaningful and exciting,” and the brand’s aim, in her words, is to “completely change the activewear industry.”
She said the best things in life are still ahead, a clear line from a swimmer who has already collected relay gold with her sister and individual world titles on another stage. For Australian swimming, her exit closes a decorated chapter; for Earthletica, it puts a three-time Olympic gold medallist at the center of the company’s next phase.
