Kieran Bird soared into his second Olympic Games with a stunning performance to win the 400m Freestyle event at the Speedo Aquatics GB Championships and Olympic & Paralympic trials.
Despite his time being two hundredths of a second outside Aquatics GB’s Olympic qualification time, the 24-year-old was selected for the Paris team on the back of some stunning swims. Bird smashed his personal bests in the 50m, 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle and looks well placed to make an impact at his second Games in France.
A 20th place finish in Tokyo did not satisfy Bird’s ambition, and he’s determined to improve on his performance at La Defense Arena.
“”I’m buzzing,” said Bird. “This time I want to go and compete, really give it a go. I feel like I’ve got redemption to do. It’s nice to be back on track with where I want to be.”
His journey to the Olympic Games started in 2012 when watching Chad Le Clos pip Michael Phelps to gold in London.
Nine years later Bird was on the plane to Tokyo after qualifying for Team GB by winning the 400m freestyle at the British Swimming Selection Trials. Finishing 20th overall in Japan, a year later Bird won gold in the 4x200m mixed freestyle relay at the European Aquatics Championships in Rome.
At the British National Championships in April 2024, Bird set a personal best of 3:45.63 as he won gold in the men’s 400 freestyle and also set bests in the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyles.
Born in Bicester, Bird qualifies for Wales through his father, and represented his nation at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Covid-19 scuppered his medal ambitions, but he is ready to star in GB colours.
Key dates
The men’s 400m freestyle all takes place on day one – Saturday, 27 July – at the La Defense Arena.
