He didn鈥檛 swim as fast as he wanted to at the Canadian Para Swimming Trials in Victoria in April.
So Coldstream鈥檚 Jacob Brayshaw was a little surprised, but excited, when it was announced he was named to the Canadian squad for the World Para Swimming Championships, which run June 12-18 in Madeira, Portugal.
鈥淐ompeting at the Worlds is really cool,鈥� said Brayshaw, 19, one of the youngest swimmers on the Canadian team who will make his World Championship debut on the event鈥檚 opening day, June 12, in the 50-metre breaststroke.
He鈥檚 part of a large Canadian contingent in Portugal that features a mix of former Paralympians, and youngsters hoping to land a spot on the 2024 Canadian Paralympics Swim Team that will compete in Paris. Brayshaw competed for Canada at the 2019 Parapan-Am Games in Lima, Peru, finishing with a pair of sixth-place results.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e (Swimming Canada) chosen a big team looking to pass the torch to younger swimmers like myself,鈥� said Brayshaw, an engineering student at UBCO who swims for Penticton鈥檚 KISU club when not training at the Vernon Recreation Complex鈥檚 aquatics centre under coach Renate Terpstra. He left for a Team Canada staging camp in England on May 27, then flies into Portugal.
鈥淚鈥檓 hoping I can showcase myself, especially in the relays, with an eye on making the team for Paris.鈥�
In Portugal, Brayshaw will swim individually in the 50-breast, then hopes to be selected for a pair of 20-point relay events June 13 and 14.
Brayshaw, who suffers with muscular dystrophy, is classified as an S2 swimmer. The lower the number, the higher the disability. The 20-point relays feature teams of four whose class numbers added up can鈥檛 exceed 20 points.
鈥淚鈥檓 a 2, so that鈥檚 hardly any points,鈥� said Brayshaw who would bring the low points, talent and enthusiasm to a Canadian relay squad. But no experience.
Brayshaw has never competed in a relay before.
Ever.
鈥淚 want to swim PBs (Personal Bests) in my events and if I get to do a relay, which would be really cool, I don鈥檛 know what to expect, and I don鈥檛 know what our chances would be like.鈥�
One person brimming with confidence is Terpstra, who has been working with Brayshaw for nearly seven years, though she won鈥檛 be in Portugal.
鈥淲e are a very good team now,鈥� said Terpstra. 鈥淛acob is very coachable. He is swimming great in practice so I am calm and confident he will do well in Portugal.鈥�
The relay events would be Brayshaw鈥檚 final races of the Para Worlds. He鈥檒l stay in Portugal until June 20 to do some sight-seeing, some computer programming homework for his summer engineering course, and root on his Canadian teammates.
鈥淚 plan to be one of the biggest cheerleaders there after my events,鈥� he said.
READ MORE: Coldstream swimmer named to elite club
READ MORE: Coldstream swimmer gets Parapan-Am Games nod
roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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