The Nelson Mandela University alumnus clinched an impressive 83rd men’s place in the 2024 Ironman African Championships in Gqeberha, which saw athletes compete in a 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and 42km run.
An award-winning national and international sports star in several fields, he is Aquabike SA Champ 2024, a repeat winner of the TransBaviaans 230km Mountain Biking Marathon, holds the Triathlon SA Champ Age Group 35 – 39 titles for 2022 and 2023, was Aquabike World Champ 2022 and currently reigns as Xterra SA Champ.
The owner of Gqeberha-based Aspire LiveFit Coaching Academy, he, together with wife and fellow coach Tracey, guides and coaches athletes in multiple sports, ranging from cycling, triathlons, running and swimming to surfing, paddling and adventure racing.
What many spectators don’t know, when watching Campbell on his bike or in the water, is that he had Guillain-Barré syndrome as a child and then Pompe Disease as an adult – two extremely rare, and severely debilitating, diseases.
The wonder years
“Growing up as one of four boys in my family, my parents, Alan and Janet, used to keep us busy by just giving us a ball and telling us to go outside and play,” says East London-born Bruce, 37, who holds a Bachelor of Human Movement Sciences. “I have never owned any gaming device!”
At six years old, while camping with his family, Campbell collapsed and couldn’t get up. He was rushed to Red Cross Children’s hospital in Cape Town, where specialists diagnosed him with Guillain-Barré, which attacks the nervous system.
The condition left him paralysed. He underwent an emergency tracheotomy and was hooked to a ventilator, which breathed for him.
“The prognosis was grim. Doctors told my parents that I might never walk again or regain full cognitive function.”
It was from that moment of adversity, says Campbell, that he learned his first critical life lesson: resilience. Released from hospital after three long, excruciatingly painful months, he moved from a wheelchair to the floor, learning to crawl again – and to walk with his youngest brother, who was also just learning to walk.
Soon, he also learned to swim again, with dad Alan, a veteran educator and former headmaster at two top schools, Woodridge Preparatory and St Francis College, at his side.
“These were not just physical milestones—they were life-affirming victories that ignited my passion for sport,” says Campbell.
His recovery involved a mental shift. “I discovered that every small victory – whether learning to crawl or swim again – was a significant step towards reclaiming my life. Each challenge I faced fuelled my desire to excel in sports and later, in my career.”
He went on to represent the Eastern Cape in swimming, water polo, mountain biking, triathlons and surfing, coming second in South Africa for the sport, first in lifesaving and winning both on-road and off-road triathlon championships. He later represented South Africa at the Cross Triathlon World Champs in Germany, placing seventh in the world.
A second blow
In 2015, while working as a teacher, Campbell, who was otherwise healthy and active, suddenly began struggling to walk.
“My classroom was upstairs, and one day, I tried to climb those stairs to get to my class and couldn’t. I was in such excruciating pain that I couldn’t lift my leg to take a step up.
“It was embarrassing, as I was a fit role model for these kids, and now couldn’t make it up a flight of stairs.”
The parent of one of Campbell’s pupils was a medical specialist, and he diagnosed Pompe Disease, which causes an abnormal accumulation of glycogen in the cells, damaging muscles and nerve cells.
Medicine was available to treat it, but the doctor warned Campbell that it was “extremely expensive” and that he might have a life-threatening allergic reaction.
He was advised to stop all sports and exercise, since it would cause a more rapid breakdown of his muscles.
“I was told to relax and enjoy what time I had left with my family. My body was slowly breaking down and getting weaker, especially my essential muscles, like my heart and lungs, which regulate all organs in your body.
Fortuitously, a cousin introduced Campbell to a representative from Rare Diseases South Africa. He was told that his medical aid should cover the treatment, which involved a bi-weekly intravenous drip costing R466 000 per month.
For the past eight years, Campbell and his wife have mixed the medication, and a nurse administers the infusion intravenously for five to six hours.
As he began to recover, Campbell focused on cycling and has used it as a platform to raise awareness about the many rare diseases afflicting thousands of people both in South Africa and around the world.
Don’t survive – thrive
Bruce and Tracey Campbell
As an ambassador of Rare Diseases South Africa, Campbell has twice completed The Cape Epic mountain bike race, the Munga – the sport’s toughest, involving a 1100km slog from Bloemfontein to Cape Town non-stop - and Ironman, whose organisers also filmed a documentary about his fight against Pompe Disease.
“As human beings, we run away from pain and suffering. This mechanism is ingrained into our brains,” says Campbell. “But, if we become aware that to achieve our goals may cause us some pain, and deliberately do the things that are hard, we will embark on a path of lasting fulfilment.
“I might have been given a ‘bad break’, having two rare diseases in one lifetime, but I have a lot to live for.
“After everything that I’ve been through, I still consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”
About Rare Diseases South Africa (RDSA)
Founded in 2013, the non-profit organisation advocates to ensure that people living with rare diseases and congenital disorders experience greater recognition, support, improved health service and better overall quality of life.
Website: www.rarediseases.co.za