Michael Phelps Fires Back At Aussie Swimmer's Team USA Slam

A video of Australia’s Cate Campbell bragging about beating the U.S. team at the 2023 World Championships in Japan has been released, prompting uproar amongst sports fans.

As a refresher, Australia walked away with 15 gold medals, eight more than Team USA.

After seeing the video of Cate Campbell, Michael Phelps, a 23-time gold medalist, fired back at the Olympian and defending Team USA.

After last year's competition, Cate Campbell sat down with Australia’s Channel 9 to discuss the overall results and final rankings. She did not hold back and slammed the U.S. Swim team.

“Such, such, sore losers,” she said in the 2023 clip, per SwimSwam.com. “Australia coming out on top is one thing, but it is just so much sweeter beating America. There were a couple of nights, particularly the first night of competition, where we did not have to hear the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ ring out through the stadium and I cannot tell you how happy that made me."

"If I never hear that song again it will be too soon," she added. "Bring on Paris, that’s all I have to say. U.S., stop being sore losers."

The 32-year-old added that Team USA rang a cowbell and chanted “USA! USA!” in the warm up area, which clearly ticked her and the other Australian swimmers off, as she claimed, “I’ve never wanted to punch someone more."

After hearing the poor sportsmanship from Campbell, Michael Phelps spoke out, voicing his opinion on the matter.

Phelps, the 23-time gold medalist, was clearly irked by Campbell's remarks. In a recent video uploaded to the NBC Olympics and Team USA Instagram pages, he criticized the 32-year-old.

“If somebody said that to me, I would lose it,” Phelps said after watching the clip. “I would make them eat every word they just said about me. Cause people have done it. Chad le Clos,  [Ian] Thorpe. You guys have all talked sh-t about me and I had the last laugh."

“So for the Americans, if you see what I just saw, I would watch that thing every day to give me that little extra bit of just oomph," he added.

The Olympian didn't stop there, as he then pointed out that the 2024 Paris Olympics are around the corner, and he will be there front and center to watch it all go down.

“Well, the good news is the Olympics will be here shortly and we’ll be able to see what the results are," Phelps, who will return to the broadcast booth to help cover Team USA’s swimming competitions, said.

“We are excited to have Michael return to our coverage across both daytime and primetime, and of course, the place where no one knows more about winning — at the pool,” Molly Solomon, the executive producer and president of NBC Olympics Production, said in a statement, per PEOPLE Magazine. “With his ability to analyze and entertain, our viewers are in for another gold-medal performance.”

Some of the most anticipated events for the Paris Olympics include Women's Gymnastics, where Simone Biles will be making her return, and Women's Basketball, where Brittney Griner will represent Team USA.

The full Women's Gymnastics roster includes Simone Biles, Skye Blakely, Jade Carey, Dulcy Caylor, Jordan Chiles, Kayla DiCello, Shilese Jones, Suni Lee, Kaliya Lincoln, Eveylynn Lowe, Zoey Molomo, Hezly Rivera, Joscelyn Roberson, Simone Rose, Tiana Sumanasekera, and Leanne Wong.

The full Women's Basketball roster includes A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, Alyssa Thomas, Napheesa Collier, Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, Sabrina Ionescu, Chelsea Gray, and Kahleah Copper.

Caitlin Clark, however, did not make the team, causing an uproar amongst sports fans. "I'm excited for the girls that are on the team," she told reporters, per ESPN. "I know it's the most competitive team in the world and I know it could have gone either way -- me being on the team or me not being on the team. I'm going to be rooting them on to win gold. I was a kid that grew up watching the Olympics, so it will be fun to watch them."

Other star athletes who will be in attendance include Lebron James, Alyssa Naeher, Steph Curry,Abby Dahlkemper, and more.

The 2024 Paris Olympics kick off on July 26, 2024.