Nick O'Hare's competitive career was brought to a close yesterday when the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) announced the final three names to be included in the Irish team to travel to the Sydney Games in September.
Following strong swims over the weekend in the national championships in Lisburn, Colin Lowth, Andrew Bree and Emma Robinson were selected to join Trojan's Chantal Gibney, who had already secured her place.
Breaststroker Robinson produced three Irish records in three days, in the 50 metres, 100 metres and 200 metres, while Bree dominated the breaststroke and medley events with six titles. Lowth, although outside his best, was a clear winner in the 200 metres butterfly. The decision not to select O'Hare (28) came as a total surprise to the sprinter, who has been preparing for the Games for the last three years, when the sport faced enormous turmoil and went through the biggest change in its history.
During that period, national coach Derry O'Rourke was jailed for child abuse, and the Minister for Sport, Dr McDaid, withdrew funding from the sport which threw Olympic schedules into chaos.
"I'm finished competitively," said O'Hare. "I achieved everything I wanted and the last thing was the Olympic Games in Sydney. It is heart-breaking to think you are getting in and then not.
"Financially now I just couldn't keep going. I was only able to get by because of financial help from a few people.
"For the last three years of my life I've being trying for this. I'm really delighted for the other swimmers who made it, Andrew, Colin, Chantal and Emma, but obviously it's not going to happen for me."
Ironically, O'Hare was the one swimmer the OCI decided to fund last year when there was nothing in the Swim Ireland kitty. The Irish record holder subsequently increased his profile in the sport by becoming an outspoken critic of the Minister's decision to withdraw funding. O'Hare argued that innocent players in the saga were again suffering as a result of the child-abuse scandals.
"I felt that over the last eight weeks I've been swimming faster. The progression showed something," he said. "I've had a couple of offers to do things in the coaching and development of swimming and I'm hoping to develop a competitive squad at the 50-metres pool at Westwood," he said.
Other disappointed swimmers will be Julie Douglas and Cork's Lee Kelleher. Kelleher lifted six titles in the butterfly and individual medley over the weekend.
In other Olympics news, Dr Zbigniew Oriwell has been selected as the athletics team coach, David Crosby as coach to the canoeists and Mary D'Arcy as chef d'equipe of the equestrian team.
