Swimming helped two young athletes realise that their physical challenges brought about by a birth defect and a severe injury cannot stand in the way of them doing what they love – and they now want to share that message.

Vladyslava Kravchenko, 24, is a member of the national para-swimming team and competed in Glasgow last week.Vladyslava Kravchenko, 24, is a member of the national para-swimming team and competed in Glasgow last week.

“To me swimming is important because it gives me the chance to show others that nothing should hold you back – although you have a disability, although you might be different,” says 21-year-old Julian Bajada. He stands by the National Pool, where he spent hours training for the Paralympic Swimming World Championships held in Glasgow last week.

His teammate Vladyslava Kravchenko, 24 – who also competed in Glasgow – agrees: “I greatly encourage people to do sports because it helps tremendously, not only in developing your physical strength but also it helps to keep you mentally strong. It helped me gain confidence in what I can do.”

Apart from being on the national para-swimming team, established under the auspices of the Aquatic Sports Association in Malta in 2014 and led by coach Isabelle Zarb, the two swimmers are also members of the Silver Lining Club.

The new club was set up by their first swimming coach, Simon Zammit, to encourage people with physical disabilities to take up a sport.

“The idea is to help them realise that, even though they have a disability, they can do things,” said Mr Zammit, himself a swimmer. The aim is for Silver Lining to grow beyond swimming.

He witnessed first hand how sports can help people with disabilities come out of their shell and wants to spread the word to others. Mr Bajada and Ms Kravchenko are happy to help.

“I like to tell my story if it helps encourage others,” says Mr Bajada. He was born with a severe form of femoral fibular ulnar syndrome, a rare condition that affected his upper and lower limbs.

It’s helped change the way I see things: these guys just get on with their lives and take it as it is without complaint

His right forearm and hand, except for his thumb, were missing, he had four fingers on his left hand and both his legs were short, with his shin bones bent forward and his toes pointing downwards.

From the age of one he started undergoing a range of operations at Great Ormond Street Hospital in the UK to straighten and lengthen his legs.

[attach id=443645 size="large"]Julian Bajada, 21, at the National Pool, where he spent hours training for the Paralympic World Championships. Photos: Annabel Zammit[/attach]

“The worst part was the pain and, for someone who always liked sports, I was always on the sidelines as I never could really do anything. I’d play football here and there but I always had to stop,” he says.

Two years ago, he was encouraged to take up swimming and Mr Zammit was his coach. His greatest achievements so far were completing the Gozo-Malta swim last year and going to Glasgow last week.

The latter experience fuelled his swimming ambitions and he is determined to keep working to become a better athlete and coach others in future. He also wants to continue his studies at the University of Malta, where he will soon start his fourth year in law and is currently working as a legal trainee in a law firm.

“A lot of young people who start university, or their full-time job, decide to call it a day on anything else. You should continue to do whatever makes you happy. You learn to juggle,” he says.

Sport is the key to excelling in many of life’s achievements: “I can’t imagine myself without my training. All you have to do is believe in yourself, focus on your abilities and what you have, rather than what you don’t. Then you become limitless.”

Ms Kravchenko agrees. She juggles working at professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, studying for her ACCA qualifications, training and community service.

When she was 17, she suffered a spinal cord injury when a lighting structure fell on her at a party in Qawra. Before the accident she did gymnastics, ballet and athletics, among other sports.

“Swimming at first was part of my rehabilitation process and helped me get stronger after a number of operations. In the water I felt free and strong again and loved it so much that I decided to take it up professionally,” she said.

She competed in three international competitions and also became the youth ambassador of Paralympic sports for the European Paralympic Committee.

“In Malta you rarely see someone with a physical disability doing sports at such a level. At the championships there were 580 athletes from nearly 70 countries. You see them doing everyday stuff as though nothing is a problem for them,” Mr Bajada said.

Ms Kravchenko added: “It’s helped change the way I see things: it’s pointless complaining about the heat. Just dress according to the weather. These guys just get on with their lives and take it as it is without complaint.”

For more information about the Silver Lining Club, visit the Swim Aid Facebook page, swimaid-2015.org or call Mr Zammit on 9947 2724 or Ms Zarb on 7982 9391. Watch excerpts of the interview on timesofmalta.com.

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