Champion rock climber Campbell Harrison reflects on coming out two years ago & realizing his dreams
wrote in a recent essay for Outsports. “Had I only known of all the incredible queer people who were out there thriving in all manner of athletic, creative and professional pursuits, then perhaps I would have been able to take ownership of my own identity sooner. … Future generations of young people within the Australian climbing community would have at least one queer person to look up to and show them that life opens its doors to you when you quit shying away from it.”That last sentence is key: so many young queer athletes grow up without seeing others like them succeed in sports.
It makes them think they’re alone, and that being LGBTQ+ is incongruous with being a successful athlete. Campbell, and others like him, prove that notion wrong on a daily basis.
He’s thrived in his sport since coming out, winning two titles at last year’s Australian championships. The 25-year-old hopes to qualify for the Paris 2024 Games (rock climbing made its debut as an Olympic sport at Tokyo 2020.)A post shared by Campbell Harrison (@campbell_harrison547)In his coming out essay, Campbell says he used to view being queer as a disadvantage in life–something that would prohibit him from accomplishing his dreams.
He now realizes he couldn’t have been more misguided. “Queerness is not a deficit that I was unfortunate to be born with, it’s an asset that both sets me apart from the crowd and connects me to so many others,” he wrote.Campbell fell in love with rock climbing over a decade ago; and in due time, became one of Australia’s elite young climbers.
