After hearing Kampton Kam’s journey in overcoming the high jump over the past four years, I’ll never complain about MATH 1400 again. In a place where it’s easy to let setbacks overcome you, it’s inspiring to see how he was able to, time and time again, bounce back better, stronger, and higher.
Name: Kampton Kam
Hometown: Singapore
Field of Study: B.S. in Economics, Finance Concentration
Activities: Men’s Varsity Track and Field, Phi Chi Theta, Wharton Investment and Trading Group, Wharton Asian Exchange, Tangen Hall Venture Lab
Can you start with a bit about you and your journey with high jump?
I’m a senior from Singapore. I’m on the track team. It’s been 16 years of high jumping for me. So to see my college career just fly by like that puts me in a spot of a lot of gratitude and a lot of sentimental moments, because I’ve seen so many seniors graduate over the years and now it’s kind of my turn too. So just trying to live in the moment, spend the rest of the 30 plus days at Penn with people that have made the experience so far, and treasure every moment.
Would you see yourself as more of an athlete, student, or both?
Honest answer, athlete–student, because we just spend so much time on the track practicing. For me, I think a lot about high jump, my sport, so outside of track I’m still thinking about what I did wrong at practice, analyzing my technique, thinking about how my diet is going to affect my competitions. So for me, athlete comes first, but obviously school is still important.
How do you feel you’ve changed over the last four years?
I came in seed number one high jumper in the Ivy League my first year, so there were a lot of expectations. I had a good fall season, no injuries, everything was good. Then in my first meet, I broke the Singapore indoor record, and then broke it again the next meet—but that’s when I injured my heel. That injury basically took me out for the whole season.
I still tried to compete at the indoor Heptagonal Championships, but I was jumping in Nike Reacts because they were the most cushioned shoes I had, and they taped my foot to the shoe. I didn’t clear a bar. That was the first time in 12–13 years of competing that I had ever done that. I just remember walking off and bawling my eyes out because it was embarrassing and I felt like I failed everyone.
Outdoor season didn’t really get better. I struggled through competitions, and then right before my last chance to qualify for regionals, I found out my mom had cancer. That kind of put everything into perspective. Like, if my mom had passed away, would any of this matter? Probably not. So my first year was a lot of getting beat down and realizing what actually matters.
How was sophomore year?
Sophomore year I came back healthy and started strong. I qualified for the Asian Games, made the finals, and was jumping well. Then I fell off a box at practice and injured my hand and back, which took me out again for a while.
Indoor season I came back, broke the record again, and jumped a national record which qualified me for NCAA Nationals. At Nationals, I was still injured, but I pushed through, cleared a height, and became an All–American. Outdoor season we were more patient—I didn’t compete much, finished second at Heps, and made regionals but just missed nationals.
So sophomore year was about patience and trusting the process, even when you want to go out and prove yourself.
Junior year?
Junior year everything kind of clicked. We had better facilities, I stayed healthy, and I was more confident. At Indoor Heps, I won, broke the national record again, and qualified for nationals. There, I improved my placement.
Then during the outdoor season, I opened with 2.25m, which was the Singapore all–time record and NCAA number one at the time. I won Penn Relays, finally got the watch, and later finished eighth at the NCAA Outdoor Nationals to bring home a trophy.
That year taught me confidence, just believing that I had it in me and going for it.
How has senior year been?
Senior year has been more mental. It’s my last time doing anything—last indoor meet, last season, last time with people—and that kind of weighs on me. I didn’t qualify for indoor nationals, which was frustrating. I still won indoor Heps again, but I have higher standards for myself.
Right now I’m just trying to manage everything—wanting to hang out with friends, thinking about the future, thinking about going pro, and it’s a lot. I’m still figuring it out.
What are some beliefs or values that guide you?
My coach used to say “stress is not real.” It’s just what you put on yourself. Nobody is forcing you to do this. You’re here because you want to be.
So view it as an opportunity to do well, because you’ve been given the privilege to be at an Ivy, to get a great education, and to do sports.
For me, it’s also about seeing how far I can go. Do I care because I like challenging myself? Because I’m good at it? When I don’t do well, do I hate the sport? No. So I think it’s about pushing myself as far as I can.
Do you feel pressure representing Singapore?
I think it’s the opposite. It’s added positive pressure. I have my country, and I have certain KPIs I need to hit. That’s something more beneficial to my mindset.
Looking ahead, how do you think your eventual step away from high jump will affect you?
By 2028, I’ll have done this for 18 years. Whether I make the Olympics or not, I’ll be proud to say I tried and gave myself the opportunity to. Because if I didn’t, I think I’d regret it more.
Maybe I will stay involved in the sport. In Singapore, I think I’m trying to push the idea that you can do both, sports and academics. There’s a stereotype that you do sports because you’re not good academically, and I want to challenge that.
What do you want your legacy at Penn to be?
I hope my legacy is: “he never gave up”. Despite all the adversity—injuries, my mom having cancer, all this stuff I couldn’t control—I didn’t give up.
My coach talks about alumni and their traits. I don’t know what mine will be, but I hope it’s something like that.
Lightning Round Questions:
Go–to hype song: Right now, “The Days – NOTION Remix” by Chrystal and Notion
One coaching cue that lives in your head rent free: Go kill it.
Favorite food: Recently, a Caprese sandwich
Any superstitions before you jump: Two cans of Red Bull and I always wear my sunglasses outdoors
Hot take: 6–foot–3 is not tall enough for high jump
Describe your Penn experience in one word: Unconventional
What do you miss most from home: My family
There are two types of people at Penn: Sceney and finance bro
And you are: More so a finance bro
