Does anyone remember Mr. Campi, who was an art teacher and 6th grade basketball coach at Danville Elementary during the 1962 - 1963 school year? This article was in Saturdays Indy Star, but since I cant remember our Mr. Campis first name, Im not sure if this is the same guy. Autumn Allison 3:04 p.m. EDT July 4, 2014 A few years ago, Richard Campi couldn’t walk up or down the 56 steps in his Victorian-era home in Fountain Square. Now, the 76-year-old is a world champion duathlete, participating in an athletic endeavor similar to a triathlon in format but with two 5-kilometer runs and a cycling leg of more than 20 kilometers instead of a swimming segment. On June 1, Campi took second in the ITU World Duathlon Championships 75-79 age division in Pontevedra, Spain. “I’m very happy to get the silver,” said Campi. To many, the fact that Campi is still competing at his age is impressive. He doesn’t see it that way. “I’m an athlete. I’m athletic,” he said. “That’s why I’m going to try and do what I do.” Local duathlete Harold Hering said Campi’s physical fitness level allows him to keep competing. “He’s quite a spry, wiry athlete,” said Hering, who is a friend of Campi. “He really gets after it.” Campi got his start as a swimmer and diver for Indiana University before moving into physical education in the public school system, where he also taught art. The energy crisis in 1978 forced closure of the pool at Westfield where he was teaching, forcing him to find alternative modes of exercise. So he started running, and never stopped. In just a few years, Campi jumped from novice runner to elite status, racking up times of 3 hours, 5 minutes at the Boston Marathon. “It was an addiction. I didn’t care about my marriage that much, I didn’t care about my job teaching or anything in the world as much,” he said. “I didn’t put enough worth into them. … What really mattered to me in doing all of this running is the next run. That was more important than anything.” This continued for 14 years until Campi’s knees gave out, and he received Oxford (half) knee replacements. “I deserved it. I earned it (the bad knees). Therefore I didn’t do any more running, any more marathons, any more triathlons or duathlons. Any of that.” But that didn’t stop Campi from working out and eventually returning to the track. He started by returning to his three-times-a-week workout regimen, followed by a few local split triathlons until Hering, his friend at the senior center, convinced Campi that his split times were world-class duathlon times. Campi listened and later placed third at the ITU National Duathlon Championships, qualifying him for the world event. Podium placement at nationals determined Campi’s competition at worlds. The second-place finisher at nationals,David Lard, and Campi battled throughout the world event, with Campi pulling ahead on the last leg of the race during the transition period. “He’s on the ground, really whipped,” Campi said. “And I am, too, but I’m not going to get on the ground. ... So off I go, and he never saw me again.” Campi finished with a time of 1:42:46 behind Frank Lalo of France, who won the age division in 1:39:39. “I’m not at all surprised at his finishes,” said Hering, who finished fourth in the same age division with a time of 2:33:48. “When he trains, he trains all out. Whatever he does. Whether he’s on the track or on the machine, he trains the way on the machine he competes.” The finish gave Campi his next goal. “So now the Frenchman who beat me is my next victim.”
Posted on: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 00:42:05 +0000
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