Rachelle Campbell and her 1975 Pan Am Games gold medal.
Forty years ago, Rachelle Campbell was an 18-year-old athlete representing Canada in the 1975 Pan Am Games in Mexico City. “I will never forget that experience and the emotions of being at the opening ceremonies,” she says. “I still get teary-eyed when I hear our national anthem.”
Campbell came home with a gold medal in the 4×400-metre relay, and then competed in the 1976 Olympics, placing eighth, and the Commonwealth games where she earned a bronze medal.
She relived those experiences in July by volunteering at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto — she worked in the track and field venues assisting with various tasks.
“Some of today’s coaches were the young kids that I used to run with,” she says. “I’m glad for the opportunity to give back to something that has given me so much.”
Sports has been part of Campbell’s life from a young age — she competed at the provincial level while in high school. Other family members have also achieved athletic success, including one brother who was an international hockey player and another who was a national boxer.
Today, Campbell is the manager of the on-campus Child Care and Learning Centre, a role she started after the 1980 Olympics were boycotted. She eventually earned an undergraduate degree in early childhood education and a master’s degree in leadership.
The campus was already familiar to her: Campbell and her teammates trained at U of G for the 1976 Olympics with coach Peter Manning. “In the winter, they would flatten down the snow and we’d run in shoes with long spikes to keep us from slipping,” she says.
She recalls that while the 1975 Pan Am Games were fairly relaxed, the attacks on athletes at the 1972 Olympics in Munich meant very tight security at the ’76 Olympics when she competed. “The security was focused on the athlete’s village with armed guards on the ground and helicopters circling overhead,” she says. “I was still very young so it scared me. I just wasn’t expecting that.”
Tight security is commonplace now, and Campbell says part of her training as a Pan Am volunteer included tips on looking for things that were out of place or unusual.
In her competitive days, Campbell says athletes traded singlets with each other, and she still has her collection, as well as the clothes she wore to competitions. At the 2015 Pan Am Games she collected a Pachi mascot toy and pins to give to her grandson, but she wasn’t too worried about having her own souvenirs.
“For me, it was just about the experience — hearing the crowds and being part of the excitement again.”