29 October 2014

Jonathan Broom-Edwards won silver at the IPC European Championships in Swansea in August and he puts this down to the commitment he has made to the sport over the past year. The Loughborough-based athlete is aiming high as he prepares for an important couple of years in his career.

“It has become a lot more serious for me. I have become a lot more dedicated to what I want to achieve now”, Broom-Edwards said.

“Last year was very good as I peaked when I wanted to peak but it highlighted where I needed to improve in terms of body composition, technical model, and the way I balance my training and working life.”

Broom-Edwards is an ambitious individual and is aiming to be as successful as possible in the T44 high jump over the next couple of years. He admits that 2014 has been a learning curve but believes it was just what he needed.

“It was frustrating throughout the season because even though I had jumped 2.10m a couple of times, I kept attempting new personal bests. I was silly to be putting the bar up too high each time instead of going for the small increments, so that’s one thing I’ve learned. I knew I had more in me before I went to Swansea but I’m glad I did it in that atmosphere there.”

In Swansea, Broom-Edwards renewed his rivalry with the Polish athlete Maciej Lepiato, who beat him to the gold in Lyon at the IPC World Championships last year. He had to settle for silver again but it was an entertaining competition which saw the world record eclipsed by both athletes. Further reward for Broom-Edwards was a new personal best of 2.15m, as his family and friends watched on from the stands. However, as he went into his third jump at 2.12m, he admits he was nervous but was ecstatic to clear the height.

“I was so relieved when I had cleared the height (2.12m) on the third attempt. After that jump I was more relaxed – I had jumped a personal best. I managed to jump 2.15m first time which was a bit of a surprise but I knew physically I had that jump in me. By 2.17m my legs were dead and I had given it everything I had by that point.”

The Pole went on to set a new world record mark of 2.17m and although that meant Broom-Edwards only held a share of the world record for five minutes, he admits the whole competition gave him motivation to jump higher.

“I think it was more the fact that he (Lepiato) had done it so I thought, ‘I’ve got to do it now!’ I didn’t really think about it as the world record at the time. But I did have five minutes as the world record holder.”

The 26 year old is happy that the high jump is gaining so much interest from audiences inside and outside the sport this year.

“It’s enjoyable to watch, and it’s good for my competition (T44), to give everyone a show, and I’m sure that will bode well for me in future years.

“Some of these guys who are jumping 2.40m plus and going for the world record, that’s just incredible. In some of the able-bodied events, I’m going to be jumping against other athletes who can jump quite high and it pushes me to aim for the B strand of the able bodied jumpers which would be great for me.”

It’s been a successful year for other members of his training group, including Isobel Pooley equalling the British record of 1.96m, and these achievements have motivated him this year.

“Our training group have had a really good year, and Isobel brought it all together at the end of the year. It’s a shame she couldn’t do it at the Commonwealth Games but she still won the silver which is something to be really proud of. It only shows that she has got more in her as well.

“I’m back training alongside Robbie Grabarz and he is jumping quite high at the moment. We’ve got a good group of jumpers and that really motivates me.”

With two silver medals from his first two major championships, in Lyon at the worlds in 2013, and from Swansea this summer, there is only one colour of medal he wants to be taking home from the IPC World Championships next year in Doha.

“I’ve got to get that gold – the main aim next year is to be world champion. If I can be world record holder in that event as well, so be it.”

The Newham and Essex Beagle has high expectations but knows he has a long way to go until he is ready to challenge for that gold and his first priority will be scaling down his weight.
 
“I’m still a bit upper body bulky so I need to reduce some atrophy there. My body fat composition is going down and down all the time, and I am restricting my diet to lose some of that weight.”

It is all part of the process for Broom-Edwards as he looks towards the next two years which culminates at the Rio Paralympics in 2016. He admits the timing of the world championships in Doha next year may alter his schedule but he and his coach (Fuzz Ahmed) have a plan in place to be ready to go for the gold medal at both events.

“It’s going to be quite a weird year in 2015. I’m going to have three training blocks for indoor, outdoor, and then because the championships are in October, I’ve got to go again. After that I’ll probably have a little bit of a break and then miss a bit of the indoor season in 2016 to be ready for Rio.”