When Jud Campbell, center, was recently inducted into the Georgia Aquatic Hall of Fame, he was joined at the ceremony by former Moss Farms Diving teammates, from left, Lane Bassham Winchester, Julia Hughes Tatum, Chad Sheldon and Camilla McLean Knowles.

MOULTRIE — When Jud Campbell was interviewed prior to being inducted into the Colquitt County Sports Hall of Fame in 2010, he had this to say about his outstanding career as a diver for Moss Farms and the University of Georgia: “It’s that mental competition … that mindset I got from Moose (Moss). I just like trying to push myself and that feeling of, ‘I can’t believe I just did this.’”

Now Campbell has joined his former Moss Farms Diving coach, Moose’s wife Janie and three other former Diving Tigers in being inducted into the Georgia Aquatic Hall of Fame.

Moose Moss was inducted into the inaugural Georgia Aquatic Hall of Fame class in 2011. Lauryn McCalley Niday joined in 2016; Lane Bassham Winchester in 2018; and Janie Moss and her and Moose’s grandson Clayton Moss in 2019.

Campbell is part of the five-person 2023 Georgia Aquatic Hall of Fame class that also includes longtime decorated swimming coach and Moultrie native Tommie Lee Jackson Jr.

Campbell started diving at Moss Farms as an 8-year-old and went on to a coveted junior career competing for three internationally recognized coaches: Moose Moss, Jay Lerew and Wenbo Chen.

He then went to the University of Georgia, where he became a record-setter under coach Dan Laak.

The high point of his career came in August 2000 when he defeated future U.S. Olympic Team member Troy Dumais to take the 1-meter championship at the U.S. National Outdoor Championships held at Mission Viejo, Calif.

His career took off in 1992, when, as a 13-year-old, he was named to the Can-Am-Mex team and won a silver medal on the 3-meter springboard and a bronze on the 1-meter in Pasadena, Calif.

He also earned a silver medal in the Junior Olympic National Championships.

A year later, he was named to the National Team and competed at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London, England.

In 1994, he won a bronze medal in the Can-Am-Mex meet and was a high school All-American for the first time.

The next year he won two National YMCA championships, setting records on both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards.

In 1996, he was the Georgia Male Junior Diver of the Year and finished fifth on 1-meter and 14th on platform at the U.S. National Championships.

In 1997, he won the YMCA National Championship on 1-meter and was runner-up on 3-meter; was a YMCA All-American; a Georgia high school champion; a high school All-American; a National Academic All-American; and was both the Junior and Senior Diver of the Year in Georgia.

Campbell agreed to dive collegiately for the University of Georgia and had an immediate impact.

And as a freshman, he took first place on the 1-meter board at the SEC Championships, giving Georgia its first SEC title since Billy Ray Schmidt won the last of his five championships in 1967.

He also was third on 3-meter and was sixth on platform at the SEC Championships.

Also that year, he placed fourth on 1-meter at the NCAA National Championships and was named All-American on 1-meter and honorable mention All-American on 3-meter and platform.

In 1999 he defended his SEC 1-meter championship in Lexington, Ky., setting a Georgia record with a score of 571.0.

During that season, be broke the Georgia dual record on 1-meter four times, was named All-SEC and was selected honorable mention All-American on 1-meter and platform.

In addition to winning his National Championship in 2000, he was named All-SEC and All-American. He was All-SEC again as a senior.

During his career, he was the Georgia Diver of the Year four times; an NCAA All-American nine times; an SEC champion three times; the SEC co-Diver of the Year in 2001 and was University of Georgia’s swimming and diving team MVP three times.

He also was a three-time Academic All-American.

After graduating from Georgia with a degree in management information systems, he earned a scholarship to and graduated from Pepperdine University’s law school.

He passed the bar exam, but decided against practicing law.

Now 44, Campbell is a lieutenant in the police department in San Diego, Calif., where he and his family live.