For Brad, just being there was surreal and securing a place in the finals was the “cherry on top” of his Rio 2016 Olympic aspirations.
Coming into the Olympics, he was ranked 10th in the world and his highest expectation was to make it into the semi-final rounds.
“I was the most tense and nervous in the semi-finals,” explained Brad in an exclusive interview at his parents’ home in Ladysmith. “When it came to the finals, I was the underdog in the outside lane. No one expected anything from me and finishing joint 6th was just amazing, with only 0.4 of a second separating the winner from the last place swimmer.”
It was such a close race…
Brad believes he has at least one more Olympic Games in him and expects to compete in not just the 50m freestyle, but the 100m and the 100m relay come Tokyo 2020.
Brad is known for his super fast starts, considered ridiculously fast by some swimming commentators.
He, however, knows where he is weakest and what he has to concentrate on, ie the last 15 metres in the water. The first 15 metres from launching off the blocks and into the water, he is regarded as one of the fastest in the world.
It is at the end of the race that he needs to improve and he plans to do just that!
