OLYMPIC athlete Colin Campbell, a true pillar of Jersey’s sporting community, has died at the age of 78.
Campbell’s remarkable exploits helped put Jersey firmly on the sporting map, becoming the first British athlete and the only Jersey athlete to compete at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
The former Victoria College student competed in the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics, in the 400m and 800m.
The talented sportsman turned to bobsleigh in 1974 and went on to compete in the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck as part of a four-man bob.
The Caesarean’s elite sporting journey began with badminton, where he played at senior level from the tender age of ten, culminating in an All-England Junior Final.
Despite his immense pedigree in the sport as a teenager, Campbell told the JEP in 2007 that he “felt there was more opportunity short-term, in athletics.”
It was a decision that proved incredibly fruitful.
In the course of the summer after the switch, he would record the second-fastest time over 440 yards (now the 400 metres) – for a British 17-year-old.
Campbell moved to London and joined the Polytechnic Harriers, one of the best athletics clubs in Britain, at one time boasting 12 British internationals – most notably Alan Pascoe and Tim Graham.
The elite breeding ground would prove the perfect place for Campbell to lay the foundations for his startling track future.
While athletics took centre stage, Campbell’s love for racket sports continued after the move to London, playing both squash and badminton at county level, before competing on the track at multiple Commonwealth Games, European Championships and two Olympic Games, before his sole Winter Olympics in bobsleigh.
Campbell would don the famed British vest over 50 times, including 34 full internationals.
The Islander returned to Jersey after the 1976 Winter Games, and became the founding president of Jersey Spartan Athletic Club upon its formation in 1979, holding the role for 15 years.
Campbell’s love affair with athletics continued deep into his life, continuing to compete as a veteran athlete.
In 1991, he would win gold for Great Britain at the World Athletic Championships in Finland, in the M45 4x400m relay team.
While back in Jersey, Campbell managed the then state-of-the-art Fort Regent sports complex for eight years, before helping set up the tennis facilities at Les Ormes, retiring in 2005.
Campbell’s breathtaking legacy both on and off the track has helped shape the stars of tomorrow at Jersey Spartan AC, who have a true pioneer of the sport to attempt to emulate.
A family announcement stated that Campbell had died peacefully on 23 December.
A full obituary in the Jersey Evening Post will follow.
