Oliver Dingley’s Ireland move could be springboard to glory

Oliver Dingley had dreamed of winning a medal at a major diving event for 14 years before he earned the right to stand on the podium at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in the summer of 2014.

It wasn’t quite the moment the 21-year old had waited so long for. Though born and bred in the North Yorkshire spa town of Harrogate, Dingley had an Irish grandparent and he had already decided to approach Swim Ireland about switching allegiances even before the bronze medal was hung around his neck.

“It was quite emotional. I had worked my heart out for two years to get on that podium and I knew at that point that it was the last time I would be representing Great Britain or England. It was a decision that I haven’t looked back on, but it was a very strange position to be in.”