'Hoped that would be me': Cate Campbell's emotional reaction to bittersweet relay gold medal

Cate Campbell has admitted the women's freestyle relay gold medal was a bittersweet moment, but the Australian swimming great is "not resentful" after the Paris triumph.

The retired Olympian, who was pushing for a spot in the team earlier this year, wept as from the stands as the Aussie girls were presented their fourth-straight gold medal in the event.

Campbell was part of the success in London, Rio and Tokyo but failed to qualify for the 2024 team, ending her professional career in the pool.

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Speaking on Nine's Today after the victory, Campbell opened up and conceded her own hopes of another Olympic gold came rushing back to the surface.

"There were big feelings," she said.

"I got emotional - not after the race, but watching the flag go up and the national anthem. I'm not resentful to any of them and I love them ... but just six weeks ago, I'd hoped that would be me standing up there.

"I'm so proud of the legacy that I'm able to leave and the fact that these girls have now done something that no other Australian relay team has done before. I know the struggles and stories that they've had to overcome.

"I don't want this moment to be about me - I don't want to take away from any of those girls in the water, I want to celebrate them because they deserve it."

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Mollie O'Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Meg Harris and the country's all-time most accomplished swimmer Emma McKeon broke the Olympic record in Paris, but fell short of toppling their own world record.

Sister Bronte Campbell and Olivia Wunsch swam in the heats, and will also be credited with winning a gold medal.

Campbell also explained the difference in a relay team as opposed to individual events, which led to the emotional group embrace on the docks after the win.

"That was faster than the team we put together three years ago. They were very close to the world record they set just a year ago … it's phenomenal," she said.

"Swimming is a very individual sport, you spend a lot of time inside your own head and staring at the black line. Often it is just you behind the blocks and you can feel the weight and the burden of that.

"The only time we get to experience what it's like being in a team environment is when you're in a relay. You get to walk out with your three compatriots beside you and it does something to us … we always lift and find something a little bit extra.

"We saw that in this event and it's very different to being an individual champion."