By Gavin Staindl
JOSHUA and Jayden Yong must be the most dedicated swimmers hitting the pool.
Not only do they train hours on end six days a week, but they also sacrifice their summer school holidays to fit in extra intensive sessions in Australia.
Joshua, 10, and Jayden, 7, hold Australian passports – but spend the majority of the year being educated in the small country of Brunei on the island of Borneo.
Both boys are national champions in their respective age groups and Joshua currently holds the Brunei national 50-metre record for freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly and backstroke.
While most kids are having fun with friends and enjoying the sun in Brunei, Jayden and Joshua head to Australia where they live in Cranbourne North and spend two “seriously hard” months training in the Casey TigerSharks program.
“They are very keen swimmers,” TigerSharks coach Julie-Anne Roberts said.
“You give them a hard workout and they’ll be full of beans afterwards.
“They love their swimming and some of the kids are really shocked at how good these guys are… it is really inspiring.”
The Yong family stumbled on the Casey TigerSharks while searching the internet for a Victorian swim club more than three years ago.
Since then, the “summer holidays” have become anything but for the Yong family.
“This is our second year with the TigerSharks and it’s really helpful for them,” said the boys’ father, Caius.
“This place is much harder than Brunei,” Jayden said.
“But we like it better,” Joshua said.
“We like Australia and we work a lot more than when we are in Brunei,” he said.
Last month, the brothers took a recent meet at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre by storm, picking up a combined three gold, three silvers and one bronze while competing against older swimmers.
“They have a very bright future and it’s shame they can only come here for a couple of months,” Roberts said.
“Having them here is great for our kids and great for our club.
“We often take on kids from out of town and it shows how professional our club is and the kids really enjoy having people from overseas coming in, too.”
