Irish Rio Olympics hopeful hangs up his goggles for good

European bronze medalist Barry Murphy has retired from swimming ahead of the qualification for the 2016 Olympic games in Rio.

Barry Murphy claimed bronze for Ireland in the 50m breaststroke at the European championships last year will not be representing Ireland in the next Olympic games. The 29-year-old Dubliner called quits on his swimming career a year after the zenith of his career in Denmark. https://twitter.com/Barry_J_Murphy/status/529583550681858048 In a statement released this morning, Murphy revealed why he would no longer be swimming competitively.

“I really gave it some good consideration. I just felt that now is the right time to do it. It just felt right. I wanted to start a job and open a new chapter in my life. The Olympic Games itself doesn’t really suit my strengths. I’ve always been a 50m swimmer, it’s been my forte. To swim the 100m breaststroke, it’s not my strongest event. I just felt I couldn't conjure up the motivation to keep going for another two years.”

Hat-tip to RTE