Nathan Young

Sport:

Swimmer

Biography:

Just after my 4th birthday, I was diagnosed with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. My hearing was fading, and I became profoundly deaf. There were no deaf schools nearby so I went to a mainstream school. I couldn’t hear the lessons, and the noise made it impossible to join in.

As my hearing deteriorated, I relied more on lip-reading. I wanted to fit in but felt I was on the outside looking in. I missed out on a lot, especially sports. I needed a sport I could do on my own terms. That’s when I found swimming. Eventually, my parents found a new school, where I was understood and able to be myself. I began to heal and return to swimming.

I joined a new club and became part of the Great Britain Deaf Swimming team. I found great friendships and had the honour of representing my country at some of the biggest deaf swimming events in the world. Swimming helped me reconnect with the world and gave me back my confidence and purpose.

At every step of this journey, my family have been by my side.

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