'It's a beautiful thing once you realise': Swimmer bound for Deaflympics sends powerful message
BRISBANE: A deaf swimmer from Melbourne delivered a scintillating win and a powerful message on the final night of the Australian championships.
"It's a beautiful thing once you realise you can overcome isolation and overcome the difficulties of communication," Nicholas Layton told Wide World of Sports.
Moments before chatting with WWOS, an exchange made possible by questions being typed out on a phone for the 22-year-old to read, he had sprinted to victory in a one-lap dash.
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Stopping the clock at 23.85 seconds in the men's 50m freestyle multi-class final, Layton out-touched two-time Paralympic gold medallist Rowan Crothers by 0.12 of a second.
In doing so, he punched his ticket to the Deaflympics, set to be hosted by Tokyo in November.
"We're going to give it everything," he said.
Born severely deaf in both ears, Layton is all too acquainted with the feeling of isolation.
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The moment Nicholas Clayton realises he won national gold. Delly Carr/Swimming Australia
All his life, the world around him has played out almost entirely on mute.
But he wants young boys and girls in his shoes to know that although they may struggle to hear, they can still feel they belong.
"Growing up, I've learned to be more communicative with others and feel like it's OK to be vulnerable, and that people really do care and love, and I've only really started understanding what it means to be vulnerable and talk about things and sometimes even have a cry on a shoulder," Layton said.
"A lot of us deaf people think being isolated is the only way to live our lives. I'm keen to talk to people and show them that it's OK to have those times to isolate yourself, but it's also important to talk to people.
"I stay in touch with some of them [deaf kids] quite regularly because at the end of the day I want to bring a positive impact to the deaf community, and to go further on that, I want to bring a positive impact to everyone in the general community. I want to bring the deaf community and the general community together so it feels like one whole big community and one whole big family, where everyone can feel they belong, feel safe, push themselves to the limit and be happy whilst doing it."
Swimmer Guilherme Maia passes the torch during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Deaflympics held in Brazil. Getty
Layton is part of the Caulfield Aquatics stable in St Kilda, in a squad run by two-time Olympic swimmer Kenrick Monk.
Layton was introduced to water at 10 months old and began racing aged 12.
He hauled in three medals at this week's national championships, claiming gold in the 50m freestyle, silver in the 100m freestyle, and bronze in the 100m butterfly.
"The swimming world is home for me," Layton said.
"It's a place where I feel I belong.
"And especially coming back after a three-week holiday, I've now definitely realised more than ever just how not alone I am. I feel very much the opposite of alone.
"To say it's a team is an understatement — it's a family. I am definitely going to do everything it takes to make them proud, and by making them proud I hope to be better each day."