WINDSOR – The triple Para swimming Paralympic champion and disability rights advocate was announced as the National Hero Honour recipient from Canada’s Walk of Fame.
Rick Hansen will present the award to Campo at a special Canada’s Walk of Fame Celebration on Wednesday, November 20 at Toronto’s Liberty Grand. Past recipients include Super Bowl champion Dr. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif.
Campo competed at the 2000 and 2004 Paralympic Games. In Sydney, she was a triple gold medallist, victorious in the S7 50m and 100m freestyles and the 4x100m free relay. She added silver in the 400 free.
In Athens, she marched three more times to the podium with a silver and two bronze. In addition, she collected two gold and a bronze at the 2002 World Championships and bronze at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
After retiring as an athlete, Campo was a national ambassador for Muscular Dystrophy Canada for over 15 years. She also served as Director of Culture and Engagement at Muscular Dystrophy Canada, where her leadership was instrumental in raising over $5 million for neuromuscular disease research.
Now as Mental Health Lead at the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board, she focuses on promoting mental well-being, inclusivity, and support for students with various challenges, including disabilities and mental health issues.
‘’It’s why I’m here today because I had those skills in my toolbox from being an athlete,’’ Campo, diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), told Breakfast Television this past summer. ‘’In sport I found my freedom. I found a world where I could just set goals and achieve them.
‘’I took off from there.”