Andrew Campbell Jr. '14

Andrew Campbell Jr. ‘14

Men’s Lightweight Crew: Men’s Double, USA

Of the three Harvard graduates representing USA men’s rowing, Andrew Campbell Jr. ’14 will be the only one competing at the lightweight level but will look to leave his mark when he begins rowing in Rio.

The New Cannan, Conn. native began competing for the United States in 2009, finishing in seventeenth in the lightweight double sculls at the U23 World Rowing Championship before earning the first sculling medal for the US since 1976 at the 2010 World Rowing Junior Championships by taking third in single sculls. At the national level, Campbell Jr. took home the title in the single sculls and lightweight double sculls at the 20120 USRowing Youth National Championships.

Campbell Jr. was named the 2011 US Rowing Man of the Year after claiming third and fourth in the lightweight single sculls at the U23 World Rowing Championships and World Rowing Championships before taking the school year off to focus on attempting to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.

The Harvard athlete fell just short of making the Olympic team, finishing third in the lightweight doubles category at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta but took home the bronze in the lightweight single sculls at the 2012 World Rowing Senior and Junior Championships.

Returning to the Crimson in 2013, Campbell Jr. rowed in the seventh seat of the first Varsity Eight, helping Harvard cruise to an undefeated season that saw it claim the Head of the Charles, Eastern Sprints, and the IRA National Championships. The success continued at the international level, where Campbell Jr. took home the U23 World Rowing Championships in the lightweight single sculls and seventh in the 2013 World Rowing Championships.

After ending his career with a second place finish at the IRA National Championships in 2014, Campbell Jr. claimed first in the U23 World Rowing Championships lightweight single sculls and thirteenth at the World Rowing Championships in the same event.

2015 saw Campbell Jr. make his first appearance at the World Rowing Championships with an eighth place finish in the lightweight double sculls as well as fourth in the World Rowing Cup. Just a year later, Campbell Jr. claimed sixth in the lightweight double sculls at the World Rowing Cup before qualifying for the Olympics by finishing in first place at the US Olympic trials.

–Staff writer Julio Fierro can be reached at julio.fierro@thecrimson.com.