Daniel Jervis has come back from the brink of walking away from the sport to take his place at his second Olympic Games.
The distance specialist revealed he came close to quitting the sport before the Speedo Aquatics GB Championships and Olympic & Paralympic Trials earlier in the year, but he delivered when it mattered to book his place in Paris.
The 28-year-old has won medals at two Commonwealth Games and appeared at three World Championships in the distance freestyle events – with his second Olympics on the horizon after winning the 1500m Freestyle comprehensively in London.
Previous to that, his 2023 season culminated at the World Championships in Fukuoka, when he was 14th in the 1500m.
He has also starred in Wales colours. A bronze in the 1500m at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow was followed by a silver on the Gold Coast four years later, before Covid forced him to withdraw from his favoured event in Birmingham two years ago.
The Adam Baker-coached distance freestyle athlete went clear to dip under the 1500m consideration time at the British Swimming Selection Trials in London, before going on to place fifth in the final in that event at the European Championships.
After coming out as gay two years ago, Dan has been a vocal advocate for the LBGTQ+ community.
He said: “This time was harder as well because the last Olympics was during a pandemic and there was so much time off – I had four or six months out of the pool – that gave me a chance to step back and have a breather and reset myself to go into the Olympic year.
“This time I have gone from a hard year at the World Championships into an Olympic year, so there was no back step. I am three years older, I have done it before, so I know what to expect.”
Key dates:
The men’s 1500m freestyle takes place over the middle weekend, with the final at 17:36 BST on Sunday, 4 August.
