Campbell excited to make Paralympic debut for Ja

Having been denied an opportunity to represent Australia at the last Paralympic Games, 400 metres runner Alberto Campbell will get the opportunity to fulfil his dream in Tokyo with Jamaica, the land of his birth.

The rescheduled Paralympic Games began yesterday with the opening ceremony, following a year-long delay because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Included in Jamaica’s contingent this year will be Campbell, the 28-year-old who ran for Australia for a decade.

This became possible because of the International Paralympic Committee’s reduction of Australia’s quota for the athletics team, which resulted in Campbell being left off the team. In an interview with the Australia Broadcasting Corporation on Sunday, Campbell said that while disappointed, he was determined to continue his journey.

“They had to cut half of the Australian team and I was one of those who got cut. But I found a way to get past that, and you know I said to myself ‘it’s not the end of the world’,” Campbell admitted.

Campbell was born in Jamaica, but raised by his adoptive parents Julie-Anne and Paul Staines in Brisbane, Australia. They first met him while working in a Salvation Army orphanage in Kingston, where Campbell had been abandoned at birth and developed an intellectual disability. They first discovered his talent at his first sports carnival in Australia and over time he progressed to represent Australia at the elite level. With Campbell still having aspirations of competition at the Paralympics, it was his trainers who gave Paul the idea of exploring the option to represent Jamaica.

“One of the Australian coaches said ‘why don’t you contact Jamaica and see if there’s a chance of representing them in the Paralympics’?” Staines said.

Campbell, who has dual citizenship, received the approval early this year for him to compete at the Tokyo Games. While he will be wearing different colours on the track, Staines said that he is grateful for the support in the decision, as well as the officials who made the dream a reality.

“(One) actually said to me he’s competing for Jamaica, but he’ll always be an Australian. And it just shows what a fantastic community the athletics community is,” Staines said.

It is something that Campbell says he is also thankful for and is hopeful of being able to sing two national anthems should he land on the podium.

“My allegiance doesn’t go either way, I’m just in the middle. Australia has been so good to me in the past and I’m sure they will continue to support me no matter what,” Campbell said.

While admitting a podium place would be “a bonus” in his Paralympic debut, Campbell said that his first priority “is to make the Olympic final”.

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com