In flip-flops and a button-down shirt, Andrew Campbell (SFS ‘06) of San Diego, Ca. looks like your average, laid-back first-year. You probably wouldn’t guess that he is one of the premier Laser class sailors in the world, the recent winner of the Youth Sailing International Sailing Federation World Championships and a U.S. Olympic hopeful.
Behind his unassuming smile, Campbell is proving himself to be one of Georgetown’s most talented and hard-working athletes, not to mention a legitimate contender for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. The first-year phenom is thus far undefeated in collegiate regattas and on Oct. 13 qualified for the Inter-collegiate Sailing Association Singlehanded National Championship by becoming the first Georgetown sailor ever to win the Middle Atlantic Inter-collegiate Sailing Association Singlehanded Championship. According to sailing Head Coach Mike Callahan, he is “the best Laser sailor Georgetown has ever had,” and he is already in one of the No. 11 Hoyas’ top three doublehanded boats.
But Campbell isn’t the product of a top northeastern prep school sailing program like many of his teammates. At the Bishops School in San Diego, Campbell was part of a small, club-level program that did not even award him P.E. credits for participation.
“Our team was less structured and got almost no support from the school,” Campbell said. “I spent a lot of afternoons practicing by myself out on the water. It was a different level of independence.”
As a result, Campbell has developed an unparalleled work ethic that is appreciated by both his coach and teammates. “He’s really dedicated, focused, and motivated,” said first-year Kelly Lanzara, who has been sailing doublehandeds with Campbell in practice. “He adds intensity to every practice and makes me work much harder in the boat.”
“When he sails Lasers, I basically just give him Gatorade and Powerbars between races,” Callahan said with a laugh. “I don’t have to keep him focused like with other people.”
Campbell started sailing when he was five-years-old, and was racing small boats by the time he was eight. Instead of focusing on high school team racing, he started participating in international regattas at 14.
“I think [my high school experience] made me more persistent than a lot of people,” he said. “It’s tough to have a work ethic when nobody’s there to push you. But instead of having somebody beside me, I knew that there was somebody half way around the world trying to beat me. That was my motivation.”
Campbell’s father sailed in the America’s Cup and was a three-time All-American in college, and his mother also sails. He credited his parents with giving him the independence to pursue an elite level of sailing that sets him apart from many of his collegiate competitors. Aside from winning the Youth World Championships last summer, Campbell also finished ninth in the Laser division of the 2002 pre-Olympic Regatta held in Athens in August.
“My parents gave me the opportunity to go places on my own, like to international Laser competitions, whereas other people sailed just in the northeast,” he said. “Gaining experience from sailors of different backgrounds is the best; it makes you stronger because its a new environment every time you go.”
Campbell traces his Olympic dreams back to the U.S. Youth Championship after his sophomore year of high school, when he ran away with the event after placing only ninth the year before.
“Any kid that watches the Olympics on TV wants to be on the podium, but that event opened my eyes to where I could go,” Campbell said.
After completing his first year at Georgetown, Campbell will take next fall off to train for the U.S. Olympic trials in Houston in November. If he makes the Olympic team, he will take the spring off as well to continue training for Athens.
“I need to focus on having a routine, just like for any other event, but there are a thousand things that make the Olympics different,” said Campbell. “My main goal is to represent the United States and the institutions I’m loyal to, and to gain as much press for the U.S. as I can. That provides an extra incentive and drive on top of my own.”
Among Campbell’s toughest competitors will be Brazilian Robert Scheidt, the current World Champion, who Campbell defeated at the pre-Olympic Regatta.
“There are people out there like Scheidt who are just above what I can comprehend,” Campbell said. “That’s going to be my challenge at the Olympics. They have a psychological advantage because they’ve been my idols.”
For now, however, Campbell is focused on representing Georgetown at the Singlehanded National Championships Nov. 8-10 in Houston.
“I chose Georgetown because the team has a drive you don’t see at other schools,” he said. “Now that I’m here, I’m proud to put Georgetown on my sail.”
Despite his remarkable experiences and success, Campbell claims he’s not so different from most of his first-year classmates.
“In the past three summers I spent a total of a week at home, but my mom still comes to a lot of my races and I still rely on my parents for emotional support, pretty much just like everyone else,” he said.
