When Jonathan Henry was born 39 years ago, a doctor told his parents his quality of life wouldn't be that high. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Born with Down Syndrome, Jonathan beat both leukaemia and testicular cancer before he reached the age of one.
When he was six, his mother Shirley put him in swimming lessons. It paid off.
The accomplished swimmer from Dieppe recently won eight medals – seven of them gold -- at the World Down Syndrome Swimming Championships in Portugal in October.
His mother Shirley was a bit surprised.
“He was the second oldest swimmer there,” she tells CTV Atlantic. “The ages range from 15 to 44 and he was 39, so he really proved he still had the ability to compete with those younger guys.”
Jonathan was proud but modest about the seven gold medals and one silver he won last month.
“I'm the greatest thanks to my mom and dad and everyone who was cheering me on. That made me feel happy,” said Jonathan.
When he was born, the Henrys didn't have a lot of positive feedback on people who have Down Syndrome, but they decided to get him involved in everything anyway.
“Regular activities, regular swimming, scouts, cubs, that kind of thing. We just introduced him to everything that we could and he was accepted by the people that were with those organizations. He just excelled in everything he could do,” said Shirley.
He started swimming competitively at 14 and then joined the Special Olympics. He's also an accomplished speed skater and curler.
In 2019, Jonathan was inducted into the City of Moncton Sports Wall of Fame as a swimmer, something he's very proud of.
He's a busy man. Jonathan works at a grocery store, does cross-fit and is the assistant equipment manager for the Moncton Wildcats.
“It's so much fun. They inspire me and I inspire them to do what they have to do on the ice and it's the Wildcat way,” said Jonathan.
Shirley said he’s a positive presence for the players.
“He motivates the guys, he gives them the thumbs up. He interacts with them, he puts in some laundry, puts stuff in the dishwasher, he fills the water bottles. He's down there on the bench giving them the 'go team,'” laughed Shirley.
Next up for Jonathan -- training for the 2024 world swimming championships in Turkey.
“I'm so proud of you, buddy,” said his father Peter at the end of his interview. “I love you.”
