Ireland swimmer Hyland set for move to Australia

IRELAND international swimmer, Brendan Hyland is poised for a move to Australia, hoping to ultimately inject new life into his bid for qualification for the Paris Olympic Games.

The Knocklyon man, who has competed with Tallaght Swim Club since the age of seven and with the National Centre for the past 12 years, will ignite a new chapter in his sporting career when he flies out to Melbourne on February 11.

Set to link up with Nunawading Swimming Club who train out of Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, Hyland is confident the move will prove a positive step in a career that has already seen him compete on the Olympic stage in Tokyo last summer.

“I’ve been in touch with swimming clubs over there” Hyland told The Echo. “Swimming is very good over in Australia and there are plenty of high-quality clubs over there.

“They have national swimming centres in Australia, but their clubs are also very high-standard from what I’ve heard. Both, genuinely, are elite set-ups.

“I did have to show Swim Ireland my plan, and I have been in touch with a club in Melbourne. That’s where I’ll be starting off.

“My swimming contacts were there in Melbourne. I know people over there and it’s quite a good set-up.

“I think it will be a bit of a buzz really, just having a different set-up” he said.

While speculation still lingers over whether or not the World Swimming Championships, scheduled to take place in Japan in May, will be postponed until 2023, the Europeans set for Rome in August remain a major target for Hyland.

“The Europeans are in Rome in August, so that will mean I’ll be able to get involved with the Australian competition scene” he continued.

“It’s going to be February 2024 when my visa is up and I’ll know by then if I’m in the running for Paris. The Europeans in August will give me enough time to see what I can do.

“When it comes to the Olympics, it’s 110 percent commitment. I said to myself, I can’t be half in, half out here, so I felt, with a change of scenery, I’ll know if I’m still loving it, and once you’re loving it, you’re ready.

“Changing up things could give me a big boost. I’ve been 12 years in the one training pool.

“I know it’s a big move, but it’s probably the easiest move I could make in terms of the people I know over there and I’m really looking forward to it” he said.

With quite a number of friends living in Australia, Hyland has long harboured a desire to move ‘Down Under’.

His decision to finally make the move comes not long after Swim Ireland’s National Head Coach, Ben Higson, announced his intention to take up a new post as Head Swimming Coach for the Western Australia Institute of Sport in Perth.