Para track star Alberto Jonathan Campbell-Staines is all set to don Jamaican jersey at 2021 Tokyo Paralympics

Alberto Jonathan Campbell-Staines, who earlier represented Team Australia, will now wear a green and gold jersey to represent Jamaica at the 2021 Paralympics.

The 28-year-old had represented Australia in track and field for more than a decade at international level and will now embark on a new journey by donning the Jamaican jersey. He was one of several athletes who had to sit out of Australia's track and field team ahead of the 2016 Rio Paralympics due to technical issues.

Campbell-Staines was shattered when the International Paralympic Committee announced the reduction of Australia’s quota for the athletics team. He was subsequently left out of the team.

Upon the Australian coach's suggestion, Campbell-Staines and his family contacted Jamaica sports authorities to inquire regarding his chances of representing the nation at the Paralympics.

Campbell-Staines got an email from Jamaica’s Paralympic Committee confirming his selection to compete for their athletics team.

Campbell-Staines will represent Jamaica in the 2021 Paralympic Games 400m track event. He will be competing in the T20 classification due to his intellectual disability.

Introducing Alberto Campbell, our athlete who will contest the Men’s 400m in the T20 category at the #Paralympics. Alberto was the first of our 4 🇯🇲 Paralympians to arrive in Japan. Catch him in action on Monday, August 30!🏃🏾‍♂️ #TeamJamaica #UnitedByEmotions pic.twitter.com/utALMvctai

— Shorna-Kay Richards (@ShornaKayR) August 23, 2021

Campbell-Staines' inspiring story

Campbell-Staines was left in the lurch on the streets of Jamaica at birth. He was prematurely born and when he was three months old, he was handed over to a state-run orphanage in Kingston where he suffered from malnutrition.

One fine day, Australian teachers Paul and Julie-Anne Staines met Campbell-Staines while working in a Salvation Army orphanage in Kingston. They adopted him when he was nine. And there was no looking back for Campbell-Staines since.

Paul and Julie-Anne Staines were very supportive of him. They discovered his talent in athletics when they happened to attend his first sports carnival. Campbell-Staines' PE teacher insisted his parents enroll him in track and field training.

Since then, he has continued to shine on the track and has won several competitions. The 28-year-old athlete won the T20 400m at the Australian Championships in 2015. He also bagged a gold in the 200m and 400m dash in 2016.

Campbell-Staines also clinched a bronze at the 2013 INAS World Championships in 2013 in the 400m and the 4x400m relay.

Campbell-Staines' Tokyo goal

Campbell-Staines is most satisfied when he is on the track. The 2021 Paralympics will mark his maiden appearance at the showpiece event. The fact that Campbell-Staines will be competing for his birth country Jamaica and not Australia doesn't take anything away from his main motive in life.

Be it for Australia or Jamaica, Campbell-Staines wants to own the track and keep performing well. He wants to focus on his speed and timing and make the most out of the given opportunity.