Brendan's Story
Fast Facts
Sport: Short Track Skating
Event: Men’s 500m, Men’s 1000m
Olympic History: Beijing 2022
Highlights: 5th – Men's 1000m World Cup A Final at Dordrecht 2021
Coach: Richard Nizielski
Year Born: 1997
Born: New Brunswick, Canada
About Brendan
Brendan’s aspirations to represent Australia in short track skating took off after a simple conversation with Australian Ice Racing officials.
He heard about the effort being given to take the national short track program back to the heights of the 1990s, at a time when Steven Bradbury was competing, and soon after that chat he left the trail to the Canadian team selection for the Australian program.
A concussion Brendan suffered just before he made the switch in 2019 also proved to be a catalyst.
“I thought the Australian program might be an interesting route for me to take. It just seemed like the stars were aligned, and that I was meant to go down this path,” Brendan said.
By competing at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Brendan made his Australian grandparents and mother, a Canadian-Australian dual citizen, proud.
He attended a training camp in Australia in early 2020 and had the intention of moving to Australia permanently. However the COVID-19 pandemic forced him to change plans.
Brendan got to make the move in early 2021, but limited opportunities to get on the ice meant he and the short track team relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah to train with the United States team.
He had a terrific 2021-22 season, culminating in a top-five finish over 1000m at the World Cup in Dordrecht, the Netherlands in November 2021.
“Since I was a little boy I’ve always dreamed of being at the Olympics and this is just the next step of me getting there," Brendan said.
In the 1000m at the Olympics, Brendan's preferred event, he set a blistering time in his first heat of 1:23.908 to set an Australian record.
That granted him direct entry to the quarter-finals. Such is the brutal nature of the sport, Brendan's 1000m campaign ended in a three-skater crash on the final corner of the quarter-finals.
In the 500m event the Aussie finished as the 21st fastest skater in the heats when he needed to be in the top 20 to move on – a difference of just 0.079 of a second between progressing. Brendan's time, 41.097 seconds over 500m, was a Personal Best.
He has completed a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in supply chain and operations management.
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