Campbell-Harrison has been “desperately dreaming” of competing in the Olympics for eight years, as he said on Instagram after the Oceania 2024 qualifying round in Melbourne in November.
That was the day his dream became a reality.
After experiencing strong disappointment at missing out on Tokyo 2020, Harrison found himself languishing in third place in the standings after the boulder section of qualifying and realized he needed to dig deeper.
He responded perfectly, scoring a perfect 100 in his favorite lead event, and quickly rose to the top, earning him a spot on the Australian men's Olympic team.
Get into the game off the sidelines
Our weekly playbook is packed with everything from locker room chatter to pressing LGBTQ sports issues.
The Australian Olympic Committee approved the 26-year-old's selection in February. “It's going to be very attractive!” he wrote.
related
Harrison is unapologetically making it happen, but it's not just about raising the profile of climbing in his hometown and abroad.
The thumbnail photo he chose for the currently pinned celebratory post in November shows him kissing his boyfriend Justin, which is a screenshot taken from a live broadcast. , the event photographer also captured the moment.
The newly crowned champion was one of four Australian and New Zealand climbers to earn an Olympic berth over the weekend, and believes he would not have achieved his dream without the strong support of loved ones. He says he couldn't do it.
“From what I saw, every other athlete who qualified who had a partner in the venue was kissing their partner on the livestream, so it was very common,” Harrison said. He told Outsports.
“But with two guys, you definitely get attention! And that can be a good and powerful thing.
“I'm happy that all the feedback I've seen has been positive. But it's interesting that this actually caught people's attention, namely same-sex couples.”
an uplifting reaction
The power of Harrison's name recognition is also being recognized at this week's 7th Australian Pride in Sport Awards, also in his hometown of Melbourne.
He has been shortlisted in the LGBTQ+ Role Model category, along with international field hockey players Davis Atkin and Greta Hayes, and World Gay Boxing Championship founder Martin Stark.
Harrison ventured into this area of the sport in 2019 when he accepted an invitation to speak on the 'Climbing with Pride' panel sponsored by social advocacy group ClimbingQT.
He later wrote on his blog that he “rolled the dice” when LGBTQ+ inclusion groups reached out to him. Looking back, I'm so glad they thought it was worth taking a chance on me.
“That panel was a big moment in my life because it was the first time I openly stepped into the public sphere as a queer person,” he says.
“I was never in the closet, but the first time I fully identified that I was gay was with my parents. It was never a secret, but they didn't really I didn't ask and I had never had a partner before.
“As time went on, I became more confident in myself. And the response I got from the queer community by being more vocal about who I was, especially when it came to qualifying for the Olympics.” It was very empowering and I was completely overwhelmed.
“So many queer people have sent me messages saying how much it meant to them or my Crowdfunder donation. Every other comment was filled with pride flags. is on display…that's really special.”
Harrison says visibility among the elite is critical. “I hope more queer people see sport as something they can pursue at a really high level and not have to be afraid of how they will be treated,” he added. .
He certainly provides that reassurance in competitive climbing, which is still relatively new to the sport scene and will make its Olympic debut in Tokyo in 2021.
Harrison was 14 years old when he participated in the World Youth Championships in Singapore. As she grew up, she saw the popularity of climbing rapidly increase, especially among her LGBTQ people.
“Many of us find community and confidence within climbing and organizations like Climbing QT. Certainly in Melbourne and Australia, it's really opening itself up,” he says, adding that inclusive He noted that this message is being amplified by state organizers and, increasingly, at the national level.
Perhaps the International Sport Climbing Federation could better reflect its efforts during Pride Month? On Valentine's Day, a photo of her kissing Justin after qualifying was one of several shared on the federation's social media feed, but Harrison said she thinks about the federation's other perceptions of LGBTQ families. I'm having a hard time.
“There's definitely a lot that could be done, and in retrospect, the League of Nations probably has a lot of responsibility in pushing these issues forward,” Harrison says. “To their credit, there’s a lot of talk about increasing diversity and inclusion of women and cultural and racial representation.
“But yeah, I think sexuality and gender identity are also important aspects.”
the personal is political
Harrison's travels for sports often take him to places where the LGBTQ community faces serious challenges.
He admits that he felt very conflicted about taking part in the 2021 World Championships in Moscow, but has recently come back-to-back with the IFSC World Cup competition in China, where LGBTQ+ rights have suffered significant setbacks. He is participating in the event.
Even the next stop on his itinerary, Salt Lake City, Utah, has new regulations pending, with an anti-transgender bathroom ban set to take effect May 1.
Meanwhile, climbing is starting to gain popularity in Saudi Arabia, and Harrison, 40 people involved in the sport, recently signed an open letter opposing the IFSC's decision to hold an event at NEOM Beachmasters on the grounds of ecological and environmental concerns. He was one of the most famous athletes and celebrities. Ethical basis.
The letter, compiled by French-led organization ACTS and citing Amnesty International and local independent human rights NGO ALQST, criticizes the NEOM megacity project from an environmental perspective and calls it a “human rights violation.”
“The mountaineering community cannot accept that its federation is promoting a project similar to that of the Saudi dictatorship,” the authors write.
Harrison, a conservationist and LGBTQ person, didn't hesitate to put her name on the letter. “As I have gotten older and become more politically aware, I have started to consider these issues more.
“Currently, this is difficult as opportunities may be limited for athletes in smaller or developing sports. It can be very difficult to weigh the pros and cons.
“Ideally, the federation would support us so we don't have to make these decisions.”
Throughout the jet setting, training, ups and downs, Harrison found great comfort in knowing Justin was in his corner. They've been together for four years, and documenting their adventures on social media is as natural as his post-qualification bickering.
But as the occasional reaction shows, the march towards equality is far from over.
“I've had people say, 'Oh, I love how political your feed is.'” And I was like, Is it political? A photo of you at the beach with your boyfriend, or going hiking with your partner?
“Or are we just not so used to queer people existing as human beings?
“We're used to burying it deep and hiding it for a long time in our lives, and by extension, a lot of people aren't used to seeing it just displayed normally. That's something I continue to carry. That's what I'm trying to do, and I'm never ashamed of it.
“We want to share what makes us happy and what gives us joy.”
Essentially, this embodies Outsport's “Courage is Contagious'' ethos.
“And I do my best to spread that courage around me,” Harrison insists. “I've seen how powerful that is for people.”
Follow Campbell Harrison on Instagram and TikTok. You can also support him on his 2024 trip to Paris. crowdfunder.
