Brothers Braxton And Bennett Wong Cheer Each Other On In Their Pursuit Of The Paralympics

Braxton Wong remembers what it was like to be 14 years old and see chunks of time drop off his race results at swim meets.

He’s turning 21 in September, so improvements in the pool come in smaller increments than they once did. Fortunately, he gets to relive that excitement and pride in seeing big results through his 14-year-old brother, Bennett.

“Lately it’s been him with the super crazy time drops, and that’s been fun to see,” said Braxton, who’s on the U.S. Paralympics Swimming U23 Team. “When I was his age I’d swim a race and drop 20 seconds. That doesn’t happen anymore, so seeing someone else do that, especially my brother, is kind of cool.”

Braxton and Bennett Wong may be at different places on their swimming journeys, but they share a number of similarities. They’re both great at the 100-meter butterfly, and they’re both the same classification, for now, in most events despite having different disabilities. And, of course, they share the same goal of one day making it to the Paralympic Games.

“I think that would be really cool, don’t you think?” Braxton asked Bennett.

“Mmmm hmmm,” Bennett said, smiling.

Braxton and Bennett are two of 12 children, including seven adopted from China, all with disabilities.  Braxton was born with a deformed right leg and had an above-the-knee amputation as a child, while Bennett is missing an arm.

Bennett said he remembers seeing his brother swim when he was younger.

“I thought dang, he’s really fast in the water,” Bennett said. “I want to go where he is, follow in his footsteps.”

Braxton, he said, often gives him advice on his strokes and other things he notices, such as Bennett tending to cross his legs on his kicks.

“That was really helpful because I started to straighten up,” Bennett said.

Bennett competed at the U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships for the first time this summer. He earned third place in the 200-meter breaststroke SB9, finishing in 3:14.95, and dropped time in nearly all his races, he said. He won another bronze medal as part of a relay team.

Braxton said he checks the Swimcloud website after Bennet’s races to see his times.

“I’ve been watching him get faster, and I see how his times compare to mine when I was his age and they’re very similar,” he said. “He’s having the same path, and that’s cool to see.”

Braxton made the decision to leave California Baptist University after his first year and return home to Clovis, California. But after a few different surgeries last fall and a diagnosis earlier this year of nerve damage in his leg, he’s had to adjust his training. One of his main goals for next season is to get reclassified.

“I do think with the medical change, my classification will most likely change,” he said. “I think (that will help) getting back to where I was so I can compete at the same level again. But I’m still swimming and still enjoying it.”

The first siblings to compete together on a U.S. Paralympic Team were wheelchair racers Tatyana and Hannah McFadden, in 2012 and 2016. Team USA has never had a pair of swimming siblings. In recent years, Connor and Megan Gioffreda both competed at the 2023 Parapan American Games, but neither was on the roster for Paris in 2024.

“I think it would really be so cool (to see them both compete at the Paralympics),” mom Tamera Wong said. “Go Team Wong. I’m definitely proud of both of them for working so hard, and also recognizing that they have different disabilities that impact their swimming very differently and they give each other a lot of grace about that. And sometimes some humor and jokes. But I’m really proud of both of them. They cheer each on, and as siblings they’re both really proud (of the other).”

In the coming year, Bennett’s looking forward to continuing to advance both with his club team and with U.S. Paralympics Swimming. Braxton’s looking forward to competing again after missing this year.

Asked about Bennett’s greatest qualities as a swimmer, Braxton said he’s hardworking.

“He’s really got good grit,” he said. “He always goes to practice, and he’s excited about racing. He has a good spark for swimming, which you need to be a good athlete.”

Bennett had the same praise for Braxton’s work ethic.

“And he’s really good about not giving up, too,” Bennett said. “And he’s really good at cheering people on.”

Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic and Paralympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to USParaSwimming.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.