Australia’s Jason set to make his Paralympic swimming debut

The Australian 18-year-old swimmer seeks to make his country “proud” as he prepares to compete at Rio 2016. 13 Jul 2016
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Swimmer jumping from the block into the water

Australia’s Braedan Jason will make his Paralympic debut at Rio 2016.

ⒸBrett Frawley
By IPC

“I believe if you are not training and striving for gold then you are a disadvantage to everyone. I have the greatest room for improvement and best chance in the 400m freestyle.”

Australia’s Braedan Jason will make his Paralympic debut at Rio 2016, where he hopes to “swim faster than ever and make my country proud.”

Last year was a breakthrough year for the 18-year-old, who reached the finals in all but one of his five events at the IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow, Great Britain, and finished as the world No. 3 in the men’s 400m freestyle S13.

“I am super excited to be able to represent my country on such an incredible stage and really want to embrace this opportunity,” he said.

“Brazil and Rio, in particular, are well-known for their party atmosphere and I think the crowd will be electric.”

Jason prefers to focus on himself and not his rivals, even with Belarus’ world record holder Ihar Boki and Russia’s London 2012 gold medallist Sergey Punko as strong contenders for gold.

“In Glasgow last year, I had hardly heard of many of the people I was racing against and admittedly still do not, so I guess in a way it is beneficial for me as I do not place rival labels on people,” he said.

“I believe if you are not training and striving for gold then you are a disadvantage to everyone. I have the greatest room for improvement and best chance in the 400m freestyle.”

Last year’s World Championships was Jason’s first major international competition and an “eye opening experience.”

“One moment I remember most fondly was the first time I walked into the pool and saw all the competing countries flags,” he said.

“From that moment I really came to terms with how big of a world stage this sport is. It was also a great opportunity to race against swimmers from all around the world and to get my name out there as a competitive one.”

Jason has mainly taken part in events within Australia during his career, but believes his limited international experience can also be beneficial for him.

“The Paralympic Games is the biggest challenge of any Paralympic athlete,” he said.

“Being so underexposed to such a large event, gives me the edge because I can react to the challenge in hopefully a different and better way than my competitors who have already gone through this.”

Australia will take a 31-strong swimming team to Rio, headlined by Paralympic champions Matthew Levy and Rick Pendleton, and three-time Paralympian Jeremy McClure.

“I admire every member on the Australian Paralympic swimming team,” said Jason.

“Each swimmer has their own unique story and has done such amazing things and I feel truly humbled to be around and compete for such an amazing group of athletes.”

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Sport fans from around the world can now buy their Paralympic tickets for Rio 2016 from authorised ticket resellers (ATRs)

The IPC’s Global ATR is Jet Set Sports, and Rio 2016 tickets and packages can be purchased on the CoSport website.

Residents of Brazil can buy 2016 Paralympics tickets directly from the Rio 2016 website.

Visa International is the exclusive payment card and the official payment system for the Paralympic Games.