Brayden Duane Davidson (born 25 October 1997) is an Australian track and field para-athlete who competes mainly in the T36 classification events. He won a bronze medal at the

2015 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships were a Paralympic track and field meet organized by the World Para Athletics subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. The event was the 7th edition of what is now known as the World Para ...

. At the

2016 Rio Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

, he won the gold medal in the Men's Long Jump T36.

Personal

Davidson was born on 25 October 1997 and has mild

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

. He has attended Reynella East College in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Sporting career

In September 2011, Davidson attended an

Australian Paralympic Committee Paralympics Australia (PA) previously called the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) (1998–2019) is the National Paralympic Committee in Australia for the Paralympic Games movement. It oversees the preparation and management of Australian tea ...

talent search day at Santos Stadium. He then qualified for the junior national championships in four events and went on to win a silver in the 400 and a bronze in the long jump, at the junior national championships the year after he won 4 gold medals in the 100m,200m,400m and long jump. Davidson was awarded a Talented Athlete Award and a Paralympic Scholarship by the

South Australian Sports Institute Sport plays an important role in the business, community, social and cultural life in South Australia. Sport as entertainment plays an important role with South Australia having the second highest rate of event attendance of all states and terri ...

in 2013. He then went on to compete in the T36 classification in long jump at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships where he came fourth in the finals. Whilst still at the world championships Davidson was selected to compete in the T36 Men's 100m at the Sainsbury's Anniversary Games in London where he came fourth. At the 2014

Australian Athletics Championships The Australian Athletics Championships or Australian Open Track and Field Championships are held annually to determine Australia's champion athletes in a range of athletics events. The championships are the primary qualification trial for athlete ...

held in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Davidson won silver in the men's 200m and long jump ambulant events. In March 2015 Davidson competed at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships held in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. He won gold in long jump, 100m and 400m and achieved a personal best and a new Australian record in the T36 class for long jump. Davidson then went on to win gold and achieved a world record in the men's ambulant long jump at the 2015 Australian Athletics Championships in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. He also won silver in the men's 200m ambulant and he reached the finals in the men's 100m ambulant event. These results have made him an A-Qualifier for the International Paralympic Committee Athletics World Championships in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

. Davidson is now aiming to compete at the

2016 Paralympic Games ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

. At the

, he won the bronze medal in the Men's Long Jump T36. Davidson dedicated the medal to his grandmother, who encouraged him to become involved in athletics as a child. Davidson won the gold medal in the Men's Long Jump T36 at the

with a jump of 5.62 m, a personal best by 11 cm. He won the gold medal on a count back due to having the second best jump. He dedicated his win to his late grandparents who were central to his pursuit of para-sport. He was awarded the

Order of Australia Medal The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 2017. At the

2017 World Para Athletics Championships The 2017 World Para Athletics Championships were a Paralympic track and field meet organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. It was held at London Stadium in London from 14 to 23 July 2017. It wa ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Davidson won the bronze medal in the Men's Long Jump T36 with a leap of 5.39m (+0.2). He finished eight in the Men's 100 T36 (13.29s (+0.1). He is coached by Lynn Larsen.

Recognition

*2015 –

Athlete with a Disability *2016 –

Athlete with a Disability and Elite Athlete with a Disability of the Year at the Advertiser/Channel 7 Sport Star of the Year awards * 2017 - Elite Athlete with a Disability of the Year at the Advertiser/Channel 7 Sport Star of the Year.

References

External links

* *
Brayden Davidson
at

Athletics Australia Athletics Australia is the national sporting organisation (NSO) recognised by Sport Australia for the sport of athletics in Australia. First founded in 1897, the organisation is responsible for administering a sport with over 16,000 registered ...

Brayden Davidson
at Australian Athletics Historical Results {{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Brayden 1997 births Living people Australian male long jumpers Australian male sprinters Paralympic athletes for Australia Paralympic gold medalists for Australia Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Cerebral Palsy category Paralympic competitors Track and field athletes with cerebral palsy Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Place of birth missing (living people)