Cate Campbell challenging Libby Trickett at first Olympics

IS this the girl who could upset Libby Trickett's dreams in Beijing?

She is 16, stands at 184cm and is reigning Olympic champion Jodie Henry's tip to produce a "surprise" in the 100m freestyle.

Brisbane teenager Cate Campbell admits her ticket to the Olympics came much sooner than expected, but her raw talent has got many people wondering if she can spring a shock.

While dual world record-holder Trickett remains the favourite to take double gold in the sprints, Campbell is putting on the pressure.

The teenager is already the third-fastest 100m freestyle swimmer in history and is equal third-fastest in the 50m freestyle event.

"I don't think anyone expects to go to their first Olympics at 16," Campbell said this week at the Australian team's training camp in Kuala Lumpur. "I don't know whether I ever expected to go to the Olympics.

"I was just swimming and enjoying it, and I guess because the enjoyment was there that reflected in the results. This has been a really big, good surprise. I'm loving it."

Born and raised in Malawi, Campbell is the eldest of five children to South African parents. She grew up swimming in Lake Malawi - which she had to share with an angry hippopotamus.

"They had to kill it, actually," Campbell said. "It was a bit of a rogue one.

"I think it killed someone and ate someone's leg off or something.

"I didn't know where it was (in the lake) and it was eating all the farmers' crops."

Campbell migrated to Australia with her family in 2001, aged 9, and soon after she joined coach Simon Cusack's squad at Indooroopilly.

"It almost seems like another lifetime," she said.

"I can't believe I've been in Australia for seven years now.

"I just think back and go 'wow, where did the years go?'

"Then I look at where I am now and I'm like, 'did I ever live in Malawi?' It's almost like two lifetimes."

Campbell sounds mature beyond her years, but she admits she has taken guidance from some of the wiser heads in the team - even her sprint rival Trickett - on what to expect at the Games.

"I have had a little bit of advice," she said.

"Grant (Hackett) has said something, Adam (Pine) and Libby, all the people who have been through it before, they have just shared a bit of what it's like."

Until now, Campbell has been largely shielded from the media, so as not to add to the pressure on her.

She is rooming with fellow teenage ace and good friend, Emily Seebohm, and is happy for most of the attention to fall on Trickett.

"I guess Libby has a lot more pressure on her than me, given she is the world record-holder in both events," she said. "I'm not one for dwelling on pressure . . . I just focus on what I have to do because hopefully my results will reflect the training I've done.

"We constantly push each other. As swimmers we're competitive, but we're also great friends, and it's great to see her improve. That makes me want to improve and when I improve she wants to improve, so we kind of push each other along."

There has been no talk of gold medals among Campbell's school friends.

"They just say 'go and have fun and bring me back something nice'," Campbell said.

"None of them are really sporty. When I go to school it's just school life and most of the time if I get in the newspaper or something they don't even know, so it's really great.

"I became their friend in grade 8 and they have known me through this process and nothing about me has changed. It's really nice to go there and be Cate, instead of Cate Campbell."

It might be harder for her to do that in a couple of weeks.