WAKELING Brandon Dean

General
OLYMPIC LONG JUMP DREAM
He competed in athletics throughout his childhood and, at age six, he was so obsessed with the dream of representing Australia in long jump at the Olympic Games that his parents built him a long jump pit. His Olympic fascination also saw him copy the eating habits of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. "I used to love watching Usain Bolt at the Olympics. I remember hearing him say that he used to have chicken nuggets the night before he'd race. So every night before my races I used to make sure I had chicken nuggets as well. I also remember holding the Olympic torch for the Sydney Olympics, when the torch relay came past my school and I got a photo with it. I just liked the Olympics as a whole, from the sprints to fencing to the marathon. I didn't care what was on, I was watching it. But I wanted to represent Australia at the Olympics in the long jump. This dream was so dear to me that, when I was six years old, I had my parents dig a long jump pit into the backyard to practice. As time went on and I slowly grew away from that childhood dream, I somehow found myself revitalising that dream many years later, but with Olympic weightlifting." (sportingnews.com, 26 May 2021; qwa.org, 06 Apr 2020)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
He has served as an ambassador for Deadly Choices, a health promotion initiative led by the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia. The initiative aims to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to make healthy choices for themselves and their families, including providing support to stop smoking and advice on healthy eating and exercise habits. "For myself, being part of the indigenous community, I feel it's important as an athlete to share my story and the values that I feel helped me to get to where I am, as well as also listening and talking with the community, young and old, just to hear their stories." He has also worked as a coach, training junior weightlifters at Burleigh Barbell Club in West Burleigh, Queensland. (sportingnews.com, 26 May 2021; qwa.org, 06 Apr 2020)