Jayden’s golden moment
After falling in love with the sport of wheelchair rugby and watching the Australians win gold at the London Paralympic games in 2012, Jayden Warn hoped he one day would be able to experience that feeling.
Four years of hard work has paid off for the Drouin athlete, who was part of the Australian team to win gold in Rio following an epic final against the United States that was decided in double over-time. “It’s an amazing feeling,” Jayden said. “I watched the guys in 2012 and have been talking about it since.
“After falling in love with the sport I wanted to experience what that feeling was like. It was a driver, more than anything.”
Jayden said it had been a long road since making the Victorian squad, working towards an invitation to attend a training camp to winning a place in the squad of 26 and then a place in the starting line-up.
“It’s very tactical, it’s the most mentally draining sport I have played in,” he said.
“It looks easier than it is. It takes at least two to three years to understand the tactical side of the game.
“I’ve been with my partner these past four years and she still doesn’t fully understand, she’s still asking questions.
“It’s just as much mental capacity as physical, if you can stay a step ahead of the game on your opponents it’s such an advantage.”
Although Australia entered the Paralympics ranked second in the world and hoping for the gold medal, the tournament wasn’t without its challenges.
“It was a really tough competition,” Jayden said.
“In London we won every game but didn’t win any by any more than 10. Everyone stepped up their game.
“We had three over-time games in two days and the final was our fourth over-time game in the tournament.” Other than a comfortable victory over the 17th ranked host nation, the Australians were made to work hard to qualify for the finals.
The team entered its final pool match against Canada needing to win to face Japan in the semi finals, a team they had become quite familiar with in lead up tournaments.
With experts writing off the Australians in the lead up to the final, Jayden said it added extra motivation to take gold.
“After the worlds, they said if you meet the United States in the final you won’t get gold,” he said.
“We wanted to meet them in the final to prove that point.
“For so long we were up on teams, winning by no less than five goals, it proved if we don’t give up we can grind it out to the end.
“We played every team and beat every team, so we can really say that we were the best. “That was even bigger for us.” Played in front of a packed stadium, the final was frantic with the Australians able to claim a 59-58 victory in double over-time.
“We should have had it stitched up before that,” Jayden said.
“We were three or four up mid way through the last quarter, but we made a couple of mistakes and let them back in to draw.
“We scored with 1.3 seconds in the clock to take it into double over-time and we picked it off at the end.
“The experts and veteran’s said it was the best game they have ever seen.”
Jayden said he had been overwhelmed by support, with social media exploding with messages after winning the gold medal match in Rio.
With the final the last event for Australian athletes, the team had support both in the village and here in Australia, with family and friends decorating his house with balloons and glitter for his return home last week.
“We were welcomed at Sydney and had tankers firing water cannons over us,” he said.
“People are starting to take more notice and giving it the recognition it deserves. We work just as hard as the next guy.
“I think people are intrigued, it’s the only full contact wheelchair sport and it’s hard and fast.”
Jayden will now have a well-earned break and turn his attention to things closer to home.
“We’re building a house and planning a wedding,” he said.
“A lot of stuff has been put on the back burner. “It’s been hectic the past few months, all the focus has been on the paralympics.
“I couldn’t have done it without my support network, my family and my fiancé, who has been with me since I’ve been on the squad. “Everyone pulls together and helps out.” Following that, Jayden still has a burning desire for more success in the sport and will turn his attention to Tokyo in 2020. “I want that feeling again,” he said. “It’s an amazing feeling and a relief. The sacrifices made with training camps, I’ve always missed something, birthdays, weddings, it’s made it worthwhile.”