SWIMMING: Cate Campbell has declared herself back to full health after reclaiming her 100m crown from sister Bronte at the Australian Short Course Championships on Thursday night.
Having been dethroned by Bronte at the World Championships in Russia, Cate qualified fastest in the heats before almost clocking a personal best in the final.
In the end her time of 51.38 was enough to edge out the hotly-contested field that included Emma McKeon (51.76) and Bronte (51.81).
Cate said it was the best she had felt since undergoing shoulder surgery almost 15 months ago.
"I'm getting the old Cate back, getting back in the groove. Starting to feel long and strong, (coach Simon Cusack's) favourite term. It's just nice to enjoy racing again," she said.
The 23-year-old credited Swimming Australia for nursing her back to full strength.
"They've supported me and been able to point me in the direction of some really great people who are at the forefront of medical innovation. I've been working with the best of the best," she said.
The Malawi-born swimmer returned from injury for the Australian Swimming Championships in April, where she took out her pet event before falling to Bronte in August.
But her focus has been solely on the Olympics, where she has only claimed two bronze medals at Beijing, and one gold medal in the relays in London.
"Right from when I decided to get the surgery, it was always about Rio. They only come around once every four years," she said.
"The rugby guys know our pain, the poor old Wallabies know exactly what that's like. Four years is a long time. A lot can happen, and so it was always about getting right for Rio and I'm well and truly on track."
Seebohm breaks Commonwealth swim record
Dual Olympian Emily Seebohm has set a new Commonwealth and national record in the 200m backstroke on Thursday night at Sydney Olympic Park.
Seebohm's sizzling 1:59.49 eclipsed the previous mark of 2:00.13 she set exactly one year ago, but fell just short of the world record 1:59.23.
Despite clocking three seconds over the magical two-minute mark in her heat, the 23-year-old left her rivals for dead in Thursday night's final.
"I didn't expect the world record, but I said to Mitch (Larkin) this afternoon that I wanted to go under two minutes and I'd be really happy with that," she said.
The result justified her decision to pull out of the 100m freestyle earlier in the night, despite clocking the fourth fastest time in the heats.
"After my swim this morning, I said I probably wouldn't go too much quicker anyway," she said.
"How much would I sacrifice for my backstroke? I'd rather go under two minutes and do a good short course 100 freestyle."
In a positive sign for the Australian Team ahead of next year's Olympic Games in Rio, Mitch Larkin also broke the Australian record in the 50m backstroke final with a time of 22.91, while Cameron McEvoy set a new personal best 46.31 seconds in the 100m freestyle final.
Jessica Ashwood took out the 800m title by shedding exactly three seconds off her PB, just one day after breaking the national and Australian all-comers record in the 1500m.
Ashwood's 8:16.77 was the best by an Australian in 2015.
One of the most-inspiring stories of the night went to 22-year-old Olympic hopeful Ellen Fullerton, who equalled her Australian record of 4:28.72 in the 400m individual medley, which she set six years ago.
Matt Encarnacion
AAP
