Josef's the golden boy of sport

Juggling Year 12 studies with national sporting commitments would challenge any 17-year-old.

Throw in involvement in several community programs and a rare genetic disorder and you have a life that keeps Josef Bandera busy - but a life he juggles "just fine".

The Bunbury teenager's condition is so rare there is no other known case in the world - something mother Allison Burnett said made her son "unique."

Josef was born with Trisomy 22, a disorder where there are three copies of chromosome 22 rather than two.

Pregnancies with this chromosomal disorder don't usually progress beyond the first trimester.

But Josef's disability is not what defines the Bunbury Catholic College student.

"It's my passion to get athletes to get the experiences I've been able to have," he said.

Those experiences include the 2013 Western Australia Special Olympics, where he won six gold medals and was selected to represent the State at the national games one year later.

"That was an amazing opportunity and my first time was pretty nerve-wracking but I thought I'd just enter it - I didn't really expect to make it to the national games," Josef said.

"Walking in at Lakeside Stadium in Melbourne with a whole bunch of my friends, representing my State, was pretty amazing."

Josef speaks modestly of his community work to raise awareness for disability inclusion in sports.

He is an athlete representative on the Special Olympics South West Committee, involved with the National Youth Mental Health Foundation headspace in Bunbury, and has input into the Bunbury Youth Advisory Council.

"I like talking to people and trying to get more young people - and just people in the community - to understand disability and people with disabilities," he said.

"I want to raise awareness for disability inclusion because I think young people are our future leaders.

"I want to share the experiences that I've gone through so they can better understand why people do certain things."

As a self-confessed public speaker, Josef's intellectual disability does little to keep the teenager from holding an audience.

He has talked to several community groups; spoken at a business luncheon in Perth and delivered a keynote address for the Bunbury City Council.

"When I speak to people, I like to speak to an audience that are willing to listen," Josef said.

Josef's focus now is to have WA Special Olympics sports played in Bunbury on a weekly basis.

"It started from our multi-sports day we had last year, where we had a real interest in our athletes wanting to play weekly sports," Josef said.

"I want to help start getting sports like golf, bocce and tennis going."

When asked what he likes to do in his spare time, Josef named his mother.

"I like to spend time with my mum. If it wasn't for my mum, I wouldn't get the opportunities I do," he said.