Braedan’s brotherly love gives Nathan a break towards Tokyo 2020

 

Swimming Australia: July 2, 2018: There was certainly an ever greater showing of brotherly love than usual from the vision impaired Jason siblings from the Sunshine Coast in Adelaide this week.

The boys, Rio Paralympic finalist Braedan, 20 and kid brother Nathan 15, were both born with cone-rod dystrophy which has left them with less than 10 per cent vision.

They have been in Adelaide with the USC Spartans Swim Team competing in the 2018 Pan Pacific Championship Trials at the SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre.

 

Braedan, an established S13 vision impaired para swimmer, with his sights set firmly on the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, swam a qualifying time, fast enough to ensure his place on the Australian team for next month’s Para Pan Pacs Swim meet in Cairns (August 9-14).

 

But when the dust settled on the results, younger brother Nathan (S12 vision impaired) was listed as first reserve for the same event after the heats, placing 11^th – and Braedan decided to forgo his place in the final and to stand on his time, which would allow Nathan another opportunity to race and post a selection qualifying time – and that’s just what he did.

 

“Luckily for the Para events you can qualify in any race, so I clocked a decent qualifying time with my heat swim,” said Braedan, a third year journalism student at the University of Sunshine Coast.

 

“I hit my qualifying time in the morning, then I saw that little brother Nathan was first reserve for the final so I thought it would be nice to pull out and give Nathan a chance to hopefully hit his qualifying time for that race in the final.

 

 “He ended up doing that and in a personal best time. So it was a case of big wins all round. 

 

“He had to hold the mantle for the family and he did a good job.”

 

After the heats Braedan came and told Nathan he was planning to pull out and it would allow him to go through his processes as if he was going to swim or not.

 

“When I got to swim and I knew I had to pull the best race out I could,” said Nathan

 

“It was a three second pb from my heat; the opportunity came and I took it and it has placed me in a good position so we will see what happens.”

 

And what does he think of big brother?

 

“Braedan is just a legend; he didn’t have to do what he did but he did it just for me and it means a lot,” said Nathan.

 

Braden had some words for Nathan before the race too.

 

“I said it’s not just enough to make the time you have to smash the time and then he did what he had to do,” said Braedan.

 

“He’s pretty good but he’s still got a bit of a way to come to beat the big brother and hopefully I can gold him off a bit longer…”

 

No matter what happens with the team selection tonight Nathan is well in line for the Australian Development team that will also race in Cairns.

 

The boys know it would be awesome to make the next Paralympics together.

 

“We would (likely) become the faces of swimming…the two Jason siblings make the team…”, laughed Braedan.

 

“But Nathan has to remember big brother is still the king of the group, I’m the funnier and the smarter and we are both the best looking of the team.”

 

And on the next Paralympics, says Nathan: “It is what everyone’s goal is and what we are aiming for both of us - making the team would be pretty special indeed.”

 

No doubt some fast exciting times ahead for the Jason boys with a good splash of brotherly love. 

The Para Pan Pacs bound for Cairns and the Pan Pacs team going to Tokyo in August, will be announced tonight at the SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre, Adelaide.