Olympian Kelsey Campbell zeros in on 55 kg heading into the World Team Trials

Campbell at the 2016 Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City, Iowa. Photo by Tony Rotunda, WrestlersAreWarriors.com.

Before Olympian Kelsey Campbell found her way to the mat, she was inspired to make her way to another type of stage. For as long as she can remember, she dreamed of being a performer and following wherever her music took her.

“My dream growing up was to perform in front of crowds. In high school I planned on pursuing music and then wrestling happened. I remember making a decision knowing I had a window for [wrestling] but music would always be there,” she said.

Campbell had a unique start to her wrestling journey. To prove some friends wrong, Campbell accepted a bet and joined her high school wrestling team when she was 17 years old.

It started off like any other bet, innocent as can be. The two-time Olympic Trials champion at 58 kg never expected to be an Olympian. All Campbell wanted was to win the bet.

“I had no intentions of doing it as a career when I first started out. I was just doing another sport. My goal was to win the bet, not to be a World champion, and that success came quick. I won the bet,” she said.

Luckily for USA Wrestling, Campbell stayed with it. She lasted two weeks in wrestling to collect on her bet, but was just the beginning for her. It was Campbell’s hard work ethic and love for sports that drove her to continue.

“It was just fun and that’s why I stuck with it. I wasn’t always great at sports, but I was always great at working hard. Wrestling really rewards work ethic,” she said

She is now heading into what could be her third full Olympic cycle and sits in the veteran’s seat amongst the women on the National Team.

“It’s so crazy. One day you’re just in the grind with all these other peers and the next day you’re the oldest person. Literally, I’m the oldest person on the National Team. Like what happened?” she said.

Throughout Campbell’s entire career she has looked toward her coaches and has been fortunate enough to have mentors that bring an extraordinary amount of support.

From her high school coach Robert Lippi, all the way to the U.S. Women’s National Coach Terry Steiner, each coach has played a crucial role in the wrestler Campbell has become today.

Lippi coached Campbell her senior year of high school, when it was all still a bet. He gave her opportunities that helped her improve and she learn what she was capable of as a wrestler.

“There would have been no career if it wasn’t for my high school coaches. They took me to tournaments that I didn’t deserve to be at or even good enough to be at. I would have never known about USGWA (United States Girls Wrestling Association) tournament if it wasn’t for my coach telling me about it. I wouldn’t have ever been able to wrestle against girls and known that I could be good at it,” she said.

After Campbell graduated high school, she made her way out to Arizona State, where she was coached by Tom Ortiz. Campbell was the first female to ever be a part of ASU’s men’s wrestling team. She went on to win two Women’s College National titles while an undergrad and continued to prove herself in the women’s competition.

The year after she graduated from college, Campbell made her first National Team and moved to Colorado Springs, Colo., to train at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.

In the first years of training in Colorado, Coach Steiner added to her constant improvements as a wrestler.

“[Steiner] taught me to figure out who I am while I’m on the mat. I learned my identity because of him,” she said.  

Campbell has become a largely successful wrestler making seven National Teams in the past eight years. She represented the USA in the 2012 Olympic Games in London and placed fifth in the World Championships in 2010.

But for Campbell, it hasn’t been about the success. She doesn’t stay hyped on what she has accomplished but rather looks forward onto what is coming next in her career.

“I do believe you have to go back to [the high points in your career] at some point and remind yourself what you’re capable of. But for me, it’s like OK, onto the next one. We have to get better. We aren’t finished yet,” she said.

After the 2012 Olympic Games, Campbell returned to the States after coming up short of her goals and with an injury. She didn’t get back on the mat for a while and even left the U.S. Olympic Training Center to deal with post-Olympic depression.

Post-Olympic depression is something that a number of athletes experience upon returning from the Games. After spending endless hours in preparation for the biggest event of one’s career, returning without reaching your goals can sink into athletes in unimaginable ways.

“Post-Olympic depression, coupled with the injury, was a low time for me, and I couldn’t really talk to people about it because my friends either went to the Olympics and maybe accomplished their goals or they didn’t go and they didn’t want to hear me crying about it,” she said.

Shortly after returning from the Olympics, Campbell was offered an internship in California.  It gave her an opportunity to escape the environment that she became so accustomed to while preparing for the Games. She packed her bags and headed out for a change.

“I needed a change of environment, a change of scenery. I just needed to leave. I needed to not see [the wrestling room] or those opponents or those coaches. I just needed something different,” she said.  

It wasn’t long after moving to California that she learned her current coach, Zeke Jones took the head coaching position at her alma mater, after serving as USA Wrestling’s Freestyle National Coach.

She eagerly approached Jones at the U.S. Open in 2013 and told him that she wanted to train with him. His response? Pack your bags. And off Campbell returned to Arizona on a new adventure.

The Sunkist Kids Regional Training Center is where Campbell has been training ever since. She has the benefits of training with a number of other National Team members, in addition to working with Coach Angel Cejudo, the older brother of 2008 Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo.  

Campbell is training hard in Arizona in preparation for the World Team Trials this month. She’ll be competing at 55 kg, down a weight from what she wrestled last year. The decision to move down in weight classes was made with counsel from both Jones and Steiner.

The change in weight classes is helping Campbell stay zeroed in on her practice.

“It’s a big task. People told me it would be so much easier to go 58 kg, but I’m not one to look for easier. This is the move I had to make. It’s forced me to do things so much better and be held more accountable in the way I do things,” she said. “It’s challenging but you don’t go in the sport for easy.”

For many wrestlers this year’s World Team Trials is just the beginning of another Olympic cycle, but for Campbell it’s just about the right now.

“I’m just focused on accomplishing some goals I have and my next goal is to make a World Team and win a medal at Worlds. I’ll focus the next thing as it comes,” she said.