Read The Age

Cate and Bronte Campbell booked their berths for the world championships, with father Eric notably absent from their entourage. […]

The girls, you see, are yet to recover from his memorable press conference during the national titles last year when the sisters made the Olympic team.

Flush with the excitement of seeing his daughters go 1-2 in the 50 freestyle after he made a last-minute decision to jet in, Eric release a barrage of one-liners and family anecdotes that, while all in good humour, had Cate and Bronte flushed with embarrassment.

The experience seems to have left a lasting mark on Bronte in particular, who, Cate revealed, has made her father sign a contract to never do that to them again.

“She actually wrote out a contract that said something along the lines of ‘to the best of my ability I will not embarrass my daughters on national television’,” Cate said. “She left a small margin of error because she said ‘to the best of his ability’, so she’s decided not to be too harsh on him. But she’s got that signed and it sits in her sock drawer, so he’s sworn off any interviews for the time being.”