Broom-Edwards eager to sweep away the competition at World Championships as he prepares to defend title
High jumper Jonathan Broom-Edwards is confident he can retain his World Para Athletics Championship title in Paris next month.
Broom-Edwards, who was born with congenital talipes equinovarus - club foot - won three successive silvers before going one better at the 2019 Dubai World Championships.
And the former Clere School student believes his experiences since then, including appearing on Channel 4's hit television show, Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, can stand him in good stead as he looks to win another World Championship gold.
With less than a month to go until the start of the Championships in France, Broom-Edwards, who won Paralympic gold in Tokyo in 2020, is feeling positive as he puts the finishing touches to his preparations.
Uniquely, he feels more relaxed than ever following a stint on SAS: Who Dares Wins, which saw him take on a simulated special forces training camp in the desert of Jordan alongside the likes of Love Island winner Amber Gill, EastEnders star Maisie Smith as well as Olympians Dwain Chambers and Fatima Whitbread.
"I'm feeling good, my metrics are all where I need them to be," he said.
"In previous years I think I'd be feeling more anticipation and anxiety.
"But some of the transformations that happened for me on SAS: Who Dares Wins have shifted my mindset in a really positive way.
"When I'm there, I'll be focusing on what I've got to do.
"At the moment, I'm concentrating on all the things I need to do in the here and now to give myself the best possible chance.
"If it's not going to help me jump higher, then I'm not going to be doing it.
"I'm excited to see what that change of mindset can do for me in a major championship."
Broom-Edwards – extremely warm, friendly and engaging – looked poised to complete the SAS course in the Middle East until he had two ribs broken when Calum Best, son of footballer George, tackled him in a game of 'murderball'.
However, after extensive work to repair the area, the 35-year-old is satisfied he's made a full recovery from the freak injury.
He said: "I'm pretty much back to normal with my ribs.
"The joint's actually probably stronger than what it was.
"I've had a lot of soft tissue work around the area but I'm confident I'm back to where it needs to be."
To train for the gruelling two week course, Broom-Edwards underwent a physical transformation that saw him add muscle to his upper body, something he's been keen to shed again so he can fly higher in Paris.
"I had to totally transform myself," he said.
"I had to bulk up quite a lot.
"That's not necessarily conducive to performance in high jump, so it's been about almost trying to undo some of the strength I'd built up in my upper body.
"I've still got about two kilograms to go and what I have noticed as I've gotten older is my metabolism has slowed down a lot.
"I'm turning into a veteran!"
Next month will be Broom-Edwards' fifth World Championships but his first as defending champion – and he doesn't mind admitting that it adds an extra element of pressure.
He said: "Of course, it definitely adds extra pressure.
"I'm desperate to retain the title and so I've got to make sure I don't let my mind get the better of me.
"All I can do is focus on the controllables.
"Ultimately, it's me against the high jump bar.
"All I can concentrate on is what I'm capable of and jumping my absolute best.
"As for the competition, what will be will be."
Now classified as V35 and so literally a veteran, Broom-Edwards feels he can use his experience to gain an edge over some of his fellow competitors.
"Absolutely, I can use it as an advantage," he said.
"Going into these Championships I'll be recreating the build-up I had for Tokyo (2020 Paralympics).
"I made the right decisions and the stars aligned so I aim to try and recreate that as best as I can."
One thing that has changed since Broom-Edwards' heroic gold medal winning display in Japan is his coach, with Beth Partridge taking over from the retired Graham Ravenscroft.
Ravenscroft, a former firefighter, worked with Broom-Edwards for three medal-laden years and is still on hand to help out Partridge, who competed in the high jump at two Commonwealth Games.
And Broom-Edwards feels the combination of the two has helped him come into the Championships in the best possible condition.
He said: "I still have a great bond with Graham and he's helping mentor Beth.
"Beth's made to be a coach.
"She's bounced right into the role and it's clear she's the right person to take over from one of the best high jump coaches around in Graham.
"She's not afraid to take us down a peg and she knows exactly when to lift us up.
"Being a former high jumper herself and an excellent high jump drill athlete, she's in an amazing place to shape us and improve our technical model.
"I feel like we're already making waves."
The other big difference from the lead-up to this competition in Paris and the 2019 event in Dubai is the apparent absence of the Covid pandemic, which meant Broom-Edwards and his fellow athletes were forced to isolate and compete in an empty arena four years ago.
And the defending champion is relishing the prospect of competing in front of spectators in the Charlety Stadium, which can hold up to 20,000 people.
"I can't wait," he said.
"The last times I experienced a really decent crowd were London 2017 and Rio 2016.
"The energy from a crowd is a beast to be tamed.
"If you're not prepared for it, it can be too much.
"I'm well-rehearsed in it now and think I can handle the crowd and even use it to my advantage.
"I think you'll only ever achieve your personal best when you get that adrenaline kick off a competition that can take you to new heights."
With a current personal best of 2.15m Broom Edwards, who felt well-placed to scale new heights at Tokyo 2020 but was thwarted by wet and windy weather conditions, feels he has what it takes to better his own record next month.
He said: "I'm not going to put a metric on that, because I know even if I jump a 1cm p.b. I'll be over the moon.
"It's been on the cusp and I know I've had it in me.
"I felt ready for it in Tokyo but the weather had other ideas.
"It was the most challenging conditions I've ever experienced when jumping so I still look at it as the performance of a lifetime.
"I want to do myself justice in the tail end of my athletics career."
Broom-Edwards is set to be back in Paris in 12 months time for the Paralympics and admits the World Championships act as something of a rehearsal as he prepares to defend his title.
"It's like a warm-up," he said.
"I'll be doing an after-action report, what went right and what could've gone better.
"At the end of the day the ultimate goal is to retain my Paralympic title in 2024."
Broom-Edwards, who was awarded an MBE in the 2022 New Year's Honours List and also works as a sports therapist and motivational speaker, didn't actually realise he was eligible for Paralympic competition until he was at university, when he took up high jump to improve his leap while playing for Loughborough's basketball team.
Now, he's partnered with Miracle Feet, a charity that works to ensure children with club foot across the world get the treatment they need while in infancy – the same treatment which helped him go on and have such a successful sporting career.
He said: "Obviously, it's something that's hugely close to my heart.
"We're trying to get the technology and the medical care that's readily available here in the UK to other countries that aren't so lucky to have that.
"We want to get to a stage where no one born with talipes has to go on living their life without having the club foot element corrected.
"It's about giving them the best possible chance in life."
For now, then, Broom-Edwards turns his attention back to the World Championships in Paris.
As he approaches the twilight of a stellar career, he continues to be a champion in and out of the arena.
