Anthony Eugene Campbell (born June 14, 1960) is an American former

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today ...

. He is the 1988 Olympic bronze medallist in the 110m Hurdles, the 1987 World Indoor champion in the 60m hurdles, and won the 1985 World Cup title in the 110m hurdles. A three-time winner of the

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a rac ...

at the IAAF Grand Prix Final, he also won the 1987 Overall Grand Prix title, with fellow hurdler Greg Foster second and pole vaulter Sergey Bubka third.

Career

Born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Campbell attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. He was the 1982 NCAA Indoor Champion for 60 yard hurdles. While a sophomore at USC, he qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, but was prevented from competing in the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

by the American-led

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

. Campbell was the youngest member of a movement that considered circumventing the U.S. boycott by competing under the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

flag, in an effort to make a statement that politics and sports should not be mixed. However, threats by U.S. officials to revoke athletes' passports and visas caused the effort to fold. Campbell noted that he would have moved forward with the effort if the group had decided to move forward: "For my age and who I was at the time, that would have been the right thing for me to do. In the event that we were banned from coming back to the U.S., I think I would have survived. I've been around the world enough to see some incredibly wonderful places where I could have been very comfortable."Wayne Drehs
Campbell, others nearly defied boycott
ESPN.com, September 22, 2000, Accessed March 13, 2009. Campbell won the British

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

title in the 110 metres hurdles event at the 1983 AAA Championships. Campbell qualified and participated in the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

, taking 5th in the 110m Hurdles; and again in for the 1988 Seoul Games, where he won the bronze medal.USC OLYMPIANS: 1904–2008
, USC Trojans Athletic Department, Accessed August 13, 2008. Campbell was one of the most consistent high hurdlers of the 80s. In

Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includ ...

magazine's world merit rankings, he was ranked in the top ten for eleven consecutive years (1980–90) with his highest placement being number two (in 1987). He married the English hurdler Michelle Edwards. Their daughter Taylor Campbell lives in England and has also competed as a hurdler. He coached former American footballer David Wilson in the triple jump prior to the 2016 US Olympic Trials.

International competitions

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Tonie 1960 births Living people American male hurdlers Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field USC Trojans men's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Track and field athletes from Los Angeles Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games World Athletics Indoor Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 1983 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportsmen