The thought of lining up against co-Olympic champion Penny Oleksiak at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games has not brought back bad memories for Cate Campbell.
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In fact, she's relishing the challenge.
In a sign of just how far the former world champion has come since her Rio meltdown, Campbell claims she wouldn't want to compete in the 100m freestyle at her home Games if Canada's Oleksiak wasn't in the field.
"Obviously we do have an Olympic champion in the race and someone who wishes they could have been an Olympic champion," she said after arriving for the Australian swim team's camp ahead of the Games starting on April 4.
"But that's what sport is all about. That is what people are going to want to come and watch - we want to see people fight and dig deep.
"I wouldn't want to swim if Penny wasn't in that race."
What a difference two years makes.
Overwhelming favourite Campbell broke down in tears after she finished a shock sixth in the Rio final, an effort she described as the "biggest choke in Olympic history".
She was so fragile she opted to take a year off from competition in 2017.
Now a revitalised Campbell wants to face her demons.
"It's about enjoying challenging yourself and really enjoying being out of your comfort zone which is a really hard thing to do," she said.
"I don't always enjoy it.
"But I think I am learning to push my comfort zones in every aspect of life, not just in the pool, and that's been really, really helpful for me."
So far, so good for Campbell, who made a stunning official return to the pool at this month's national selection trials.
The 25-year-old broke the 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle Australian records and helped herself to a dominant 100m freestyle gold to announce herself again on the world stage.
Her 100m winning time at the trials was 0.33 of a second faster than Oleksiak and American Simone Manuel's effort that earned them a stunning tie for Rio gold.
Campbell said adding the 50m butterfly to her program was part of her new approach.
"I have been kind of like a two trick pony for my entire career," said Campbell, who had previously only concentrated on the 50m and 100m freestyle.
"I have been doing this for a long time so it is time to shake things up a little."
Australian Associated Press
