sports

Swimming With Sibling Rivalry

Matt Redfern. Photo credit: imagecomms

Twenty four year old Rebecca Redfern will compete in her third Paralympic Games with her 25 year old elder brother Matthew, who has come out of retirement for this special occasion.

At La Defence Arena, the siblings will not only wear the same uniforms but they will also participate in the same competitions, such as the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay.

However, Rebecca says that any sibling rivalry you witness is only healthy as she simply gets more emotional when she watches her brother swim, which is why she feels more pressure to succeed in the water.

It’s really good. Rebecca is supposed to be really supportive but beforehand, I was the cool, calm and collected one and she was almost shivering with nerves. I was there to support her – it’s always nice to have such a friendly face beside you and now we have the breaststroke tomorrow.

Matthew Redfern (on racing alongside his sister)

Rebecca Redfern. Photo credit: imagecomms

It’s good to get the nerves out the way before my main event tomorrow. There’s no better team to do it with, we know how to get each other in the right frame of mind and there is absolutely nothing better than swimming with my brother – although don’t believe a word he says about me! He has that inner coach in him, he knows how to calm me down when I start to stress about it. I’m really grateful he was here today.

Rebecca Redfern (on racing alongside her brother)