Andrew Campbell

Andrew Campbell graduated from Georgetown University in 2006, and he is already a well-decorated sailor. He progressed from being a promising talent in the youth ranks—winning the singlehanded division of the US SAILING U.S. Youth Sailing Championship three times and the Laser class at the 2002 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship—to a four-time ICSA All-American in college. He has already been named the U.S. Olympic Committee's male athlete of the year for sailing three times and logged a string of top finishes. But his win at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in 2007 stands as a significant victory. Not only was it his doorway to the Olympic arena, but it also demonstrated what Campbell considers his key strength on the water: his ability to rebound.

"I tend to sail very conservatively but I think I come back very well. I can rally from tough situations," said Campbell.

The U.S. Trials escalated into a two-boat battle between Campbell and fellow US Sailing Team member Brad Funk. With only two days of racing left, Campbell was in second place, six points behind Funk. But Campbell still had plenty of fight—and he had a plan: "I'm just going to continue to put the pressure on … There is still a lot of racing left."

By the end of the next day of racing, Campbell was in the lead by 5 points, and the regatta ended on a tie, which Campbell won on a tie-breaker.

Campbell started sailing at age 6, and has good memories of those early days: "The best part was being able to go down [to the water] most days of the week and scramble around with three or four great friends and competitors." He graduated from Sabots, to high school and Laser Radial racing. At age 16, he was on the starting line of his first Olympic Trials in the Laser class.

The sport is clearly in his DNA. His father, Bill Campbell, is a three-time All-American, a winning America's Cup crew, and an active one-design racer. "There were countless conversations at the table with spoons and knives playing out scenarios of the afternoon's sailing," says Campbell. "Dad and Mom were able to instill a love of the game in me as well as the patience to be a student of the game, for which I am extremely grateful."

Campbell may be best known as a singlehanded champion. But as a former sailing team captain in college, he appreciates contests won by a corps of players. "The challenge of making a team go fast is far more rewarding than singlehanded victories," he says.

Still, it's clear that Andrew Campbell is drawn to the purity of one man, one boat: "There is a lot of comfort in the fact that you don't have to rely on anybody but yourself."

SIGNIFICANT SAILING ACHIEVEMENTS:

U.S. Olympic Committee SportsMan of the Year/Sailing (2007)
U.S. Olympic Committee Male Athlete of the Year/Sailing (2002, 2005)
Four-time ICSA All-American ('03, '04, '05, '06)
2006 Collegiate Sailor of the Year
Sailing Team Captain/Georgetown University (2004-05, 2005-06)
Three-time winner (singlehanded)/US SAILING U.S. Youth Sailing Championship (2000, 2001, 2002)

SAILING RESUME:

2008
8th Delta Lloyd Regatta/Medemblik, Netherlands
29th World Laser Championship 2008/Terrigal, Australia

2007
1st U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Sailing/Middletown, Rhode Island
1st XV Pan American Games/Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
3rd Canadian Olympic Regatta/Kingston, Ontario, Canada
5th Laser Australian Championship/Victoria, Australia
4th Laser Midwinters East/Clearwater, Florida (top American)
8th HRH Princess Sofia Trophy/Palma de Mallorca, Spain (top American)
18th US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR/Miami, Florida

2006
3rd Laser Midwinters East/Clearwater, Florida
5th US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR
9th Laser Open North American Championship/Halifax, Canada

2005
1st Laser North American Championship/Seattle, Washington
1st Laser Midwinters East/Clearwater, Florida
2nd US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR

2004
3rd Canadian Olympic Regatta/Kingston, Ontario, Canada

2003
7th U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Sailing/Houston, Texas