At just eight years old, Constantine Gibson’s achievements in the velodrome captured the attention of a WA cycling fan.
But his cycling performance pales compared to what he regularly did as a three-year-old — counting compressions for his parents while they performed CPR on his younger brother.
Gibson’s younger brother Jericho was diagnosed with the draft syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy characterized by frequent, prolonged seizures, after six months.
When Constantine’s on track or the road, he’s driven by an insatiable love beyond his early years – but when he’s not on his bike, his dad Guy says he’s shifting gears to be a protective big brother. To be.
“He takes care of him; he knows when he hears that cry it’s on and how to prepare it on the side, and if the attack lasts longer than two minutes, we should get midazolam, his rescue drug,” he said.
Thursday is International Dravet Syndrome Awareness Day, a day close to the hearts of Gibson’s family for obvious reasons.
Camera icon Constantine Gibson with the six golds he won in the 11s category at this year’s WA Track Cycling State Championships. Credit: Included
Cold temperatures can trigger Jericho’s seizures, and he receives physical and occupational therapy several days a week.
His father sleeps next to him every night in case he has a seizure, and the family has moved to Perth from the east after the diagnosis.
The silver lining of the move was that Constantine could discover his love for cycling.
“When I took him out during COVID lockdown, he wouldn’t stop. He would just put in an insane amount of miles for his age,” said his father.
The elder Gibson, a self-proclaimed new cyclist, tried to nurture his son’s love, and the pair found their way to Track Cycling WA.
“They put him in his first match at eight, and that was the WA Track Cycling State Championships; they were very confident that he would unleash him at that point,” he said.
“I was apprehensive, but they knew what they were doing; he wiped clean.”
Camera iconConstantine Gibson (back) with his younger brother Jericho. Credit: Included
At just eight years old, Gibson won six gold medals in an age bracket three years his senior and shortly after added a state road title to his record.
Jericho comes to support his older brother in the athletics club whenever he can, where the pair caught the eye of London Olympic bronze medalist Shane Perkins.
The cyclist said he was impressed not only by Constantine’s rare talent but also by his dedication to Jericho.
“I have no doubt not to; not draws strength from his relationship with his brother Jericho. It’s something beautiful about that band, and how Con handles this is inspiring to everyone around him,” Perkins said.
“It was apparent early on how passionate Con was about his riding and his thirst for knowledge about the sport. He always asks questions, learns from all the riders around him, and develops his skills in every way possible.
“He is willing to do whatever it takes to learn the basics from the experienced cyclist around him at such a young age. Couple that with his competitive nature, and you have the recipe for asuccessful athleteg.”
