BDC year 5 student and swim superstar, Harry Campbell was recently interviewed by Coffs Coast Focus Magazine. Read the full article here: 

Harry Campbell is an 11 year old who has been swimming competitively for a couple of seasons now and is showing some serious potential in the pool!

Hi Harry. You tend to spend more time in water than on land and are a familiar face here at the pools, but for those that don’t know you, please introduce yourself.

Hi, I’m Harry. I’m 11 years old and I love to swim. I also play soccer, love reading, cooking, playing guitar and hanging out with my family and friends. I’m in year 5 at Bishop Druitt College and I have 2 younger sisters.

You started swimming at 3 months and moved into competition at age 8. What did you love about this and what got you hooked?

I actually didn’t always love swimming; my Mum had to drag me along for a long while and I quit for a while when I was 7, but what got me hooked was competing. I love racing! From my first school carnival to now, all the training is worth it when I get to race.

At just 11 years old, you’ve been competing for 2 full seasons and collected a few medals along the way. Tell us about some of your recent achievements and what you’re most proud of with your accomplishments?

This past season was my first time competing at the bigger meets and it was great to see how I could go on the bigger “stage”. This past season, I won a medal at every meet I went to, which I was super happy with.

My biggest achievements so far are the Queensland Sprint Championships (1st 50m freestyle and 3rd 50m butterfly), the NSW Country Championships (1st 50m and 100m freestyle, 1st 50m butterfly and 2nd 100m butterfly), NSW Junior State Age Championships (3rd 50m butterfly), Combined Independent School (CIS) Swimming Championships (1st 50m freestyle and 1st 50m butterfly) and Primary Schools Sports Association (PSSA) Swimming Championships (3rd 50m butterfly).

I also qualified for the School Sports Australia National Swimming Championships, but they have been cancelled due to COVID.

What type of training and routine do you follow to develop and get better at your sport?

I currently do 4 pool sessions per week and 2 strength and conditioning sessions specific to my swim training; these sessions include speed and endurance sessions and working on my technique in the pool. I also do 3 soccer sessions, which also provide me with land fitness. I have to get up early in the mornings for training, so I go to bed pretty early most nights, how I could go on the and I try to eat a lot of bigger stage. good foods to fuel my training. I am also starting to introduce some yoga, stretching and activation exercises into my training.

Who is your inspiration in the sporting world?

I like to watch Kyle Chalmers race and I also admire Susie O’Neill as butterfly is my favourite stroke. I am also very inspired by Maddy Gough and Maddie McTernan who are both from Coffs and swimming at the Tokyo Olympics. And I love Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the football field.

What goals are you working towards or currently focusing on for the near future?

We are in the “off-season” at the moment, so I am currently focusing on my training and completing my sessions, as well as making it to the finals in soccer. The long-course season starts in October and I am hoping to compete at more of the bigger meets and achieve PBs.

Thanks Harry.