Gay Stud Olympian Campbell Harrison Will Make History

June 9, 2024
ALEXANDER

Gay Stud Olympian Campbell Harrison Makes History

Happy Pride Month! If hot athletes are your cup of tea, we've got a cutie for you. Like Australians? Even better! Sport climber Campbell Harrison will make sports and LGBTQ history as the first openly gay competitor in his sport at this year's Paris Olympics. This will be the second time that sports climbing has taken part in the Olympics; Harrison qualified by winning the boulder and lead events at the Oceania Olympics trials this past November.

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Campbell came out to the world and his parents during Pride 2021 when he spoke at a ClimbingQ panel and talked about LGBTQ inclusion in the climbing community. He had little to no queer representation growing up and was afraid to come out because he felt inferior. His mission is to be an example to other athletes still in the closet and for the younger queer generation to not hide their identities.

"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. By embracing myself as both a gay man and an athlete I have the ability to assure young people, who may be feeling the apprehension that I did, that gay people are not only all around us, but we don’t have to hide who we are to get respect."

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Campbell caused a stir when he qualified for the Olympics and kissed his boyfriend. Gasp! Though we have seen this kind of moment shared between heterosexual couples, it is very rare indeed for same-sex kisses to happen in the sports arena. The reception was overall positive, and Campbell is glad it caused a stir. Check out the moment here:

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What can we expect during Campbell's Olympic competition? Sport climbing covers three formats - bouldering, speed, and lead. Bouldering is a 4.5-high wall that an athlete must climb without ropes, in a set period of time, in the fewest attempts possible. Speed is a competition against the clock in one-on-one eliminations. In the lead competition, athletes must climb as high as possible on a 15-meter high wall in six minutes - the athletes have never seen the course prior to the event. One medal is given for bouldering and lead events, and one is given for the speed event.