Local siblings putting deaf swimming on the map

A PAIR of Geelong siblings made Australian history by becoming the first deaf brothers to represent their country at a Deaf World Swimming Championships event.

Last month, Geelong Swimming Club members Dylan and James Logan donned the yellow and green to represent Australia in Argentina where they joined 150 competitors from 28 different countries.

The pair helped guide Australia’s team of six competitors to their best result at a world championships since 2005, collectively bringing home three silver and three bronze medals.

The event marked the second time 20-year-old Dylan Logan had competed on an international scale, while the occasion was a first for younger brother James (17 years old).

They both competed in the freestyle and butterfly divisions, while James also did backstroke.

The siblings, who travelled with their father and Australian team manager Mark, said it was one of the best experiences of their life.

“It was such an amazing opportunity to head to Argentina and see the fantastic culture. It’s a bit of a hidden gem,” Dylan said.

“I did a lot better than the first time I went. I got two bronzes in the relay and got four top eight and four top ten finishes.

“My dad, brother and I ate so many steaks too, the meat over there was so good!

“It was also great to see some past friends and make some new ones, so I look forward to seeing them at the next meet.”James said it was a “fantastic” first-time experience.

“It gave me a great opportunity to see what it’s like at an international level.

“I’m going to keep training as hard as I can so to get back to this stage and to Rio and future world championships.”

The pair, who were both born with sensorineural hearing loss, started swimming at the age of eight, and decided to solely concentrate on the sport after several of their other passions became difficult to advance further in.

“I used to do judo, however with my hearing aids, my ears got pretty beaten up, so I started swimming when I was eight or nine and just really enjoyed it,” Dylan said.

“I got competitive a year or two later when we were living in South Africa and then really picked it up more when we moved here.

“It’s opened up so many doors for me.”

James said he began swimming at about eight years old,

“I used to play tennis and judo, but once again with the hearing aids, they didn’t go so well with the judo, so I concentrated on swimming!

“It’s been a super enriching opportunity for me to be swimming.”

Both the boys have aspirations to compete in the Deaf Olympics at Tokyo in November 2025.

The pair are both well on their way to achieving it with their qualifying times falling below the current cut off time.