Brave Braedan’s Rio Dream

Surf Life Saving Australia, April 17, 2015: Braedan Jason lined up in the Under 17 ironman heats at the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships and none of the other 15 competitors knew the game he was about to play out when the whistle sounded to send the field on its way.

As the boys from clubs like Currumbin, Freshwater, Redhead, Terrigal and Mooloolaba charged through the gutter and across the sandbank, heading for the turning buoys on their boards, Braedan was right there with them.

“Braedan’s the one laying down,” said his dad Vince.

He settled in and disappeared into the glaring sun at North Kirra as the field in heat eight set sail for the turning buoys.

The game playing out in Braedan’s head was “follow the leader” – the 16 year-old from Alexandra Headland is legally blind – with only 10 percent vision after been born with cone dystrophy a degenerative loss of vision.

He paddled onto a wave, jumped off his board, adjusting his goggles, dodging boards and handlers and almost missing the first turning flag, as his game continued through the swim.

You could tell his smooth, high elbows were that of a smooth stroking pool swimmer and he followed the other boys I to the break, before running strongly to the finish.

Jason finished ninth, missing the quarter finals by one position – but he had a smile on his face as he received a pat on the back from dad Vince.

Braedan and his little brother Nathan, 12, have both been diagnosed with the impairment and Nathan too has followed his big brother into surf lifesaving.

Something else the rest of the Under 17s at the Aussies did not know either is that Braedan has just been named in the Australian Dolphins Paralympic swim Team for the IPC World Championships in Glasgow from July 13-19.

The second oldest of four boys, Braedan is one of six rookies named on a 30-strong team after swimming into the top three in the world in the S13 (vision impaired) category in the 400 metres freestyle.

Jason has been under the expert coaching of 1964 Australian Olympian and former New Zealand Olympic coach Jan Cameron at the new Paralympic program on the Sunshine Coast for the past 12 months.

“It was a huge thrill to go to Sydney at the recent Australian Championships and swim so well and to hear my name read out amongst the Australian team members like Grant Hackett was amazing,” said Braedan.

“They combined both the able bodied and the Paralympic teams and that was really cool.

“I would love to go to Glasgow and improve my times and hopefully continue training hard and make the Australian team for the Paralympics in Rio next year – that has been a dream.”

But there is no black line to follow when he joins his mates in the surf.

“I just have to follow the boys in front and hope I can find the turning buoys and swim back to the beach,” said Braedan, who managed to show off his surfing skills as well.

“I have been in surf lifesaving all my life when I started as a nipper at North Cronulla and ever since we moved to Queensland with the Alexandra Headlands Club.

“It is so much fun but I have to say using my leg muscles running in and out of the surf is tough going and it’s been a busy couple of weeks.”

He has been under some great coaches too in former Ironwoman Simone Cotter at North Cronulla and Olympian Janelle Elford, at Alexandra Headland.

Braedan is certainly an inspiration to young people with a disability and if determination and hard training is any indication then his dream to become a Paralympian may well come true in Rio next year.

And he’ll have a host of Under 17 surf lifesavers from around Australia cheering him on.

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Issued on behalf of Surf Life Saving Australia by

Ian Hanson| Media Manager Triathlon Australia Managing Director
Hanson Media Group | P O Box 299 | West Burleigh Qld 4219
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