“This will keep me hungry for the rest of the year”
BRENDAN Hyland has taken heart from his brilliant performances so far at the FINA World Swimming Championships in South Korea despite just missing out on Olympic Games qualification in the 200m Butterfly.
The Tallaght Swim Club and National Centre competitor qualified for the semi finals where he clocked a new PB and Irish record of 1:56.55 that was fractionally outside the standard of 1:56.48 for next year’s Summer Games in Tokyo.
Brendan Hyland.
Still, after finishing up sixth in his semi final and 11th overall, he can draw many positives from his superb display.
“To get to a World semi final is huge” he told The Echo. “The standard here is as good as the Olympics.
“But when I saw the time I did, to be so close, I was a little bit gutted. I didn’t hold back and was out pretty fast. Still to be .07 just off it, it was tough.
“It would have been nice to wrap it [Olympic qualification] up, but I think things happen for a reason. This will keep me hungry for the rest of the year and there could be something special for me just around the corner” he suggested.
Hyland now turns his attention to relay competition with the Men’s 4x200m Freestyle on Friday and the 4x100m Medley on Sunday.
The anchor man in the former, he will be hoping to help the team to a 12th place finish that would see them qualify for Tokyo.
“I’ve got the relays now. I’m the anchor for the 4x200m Freestyle on Friday and with the form I’m in now, anything can happen. I know I’m in the form of my life” he said.
“The top 12 teams gain automatic qualification for the Olympics and that’s what we’ll be aiming for.
“But with relays, everyone needs to perform well. We have to take care of our own business, split well and hopefully get that bit of luck.”
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