Swimming through stormy waters

EIGHT years ago Andrew Bree — at just 19 — had the world at his feet when he made his Olympic debut in Sydney but since then not only himself but Irish swimming in general has gone through some difficult times.

He was devastated when he failed by just 0.4 of a second to get the qualifying standard for the Athens Olympics four years ago and was so disappointed that he stayed away from the pool for six months.

When he eventually came to terms with that near miss he refocused, examined his whole approach to the sport and made some major changes.