HYLAND Brendan

General
BOXING HELP
His father and three cousins all competed in professional boxing, and he says being brought up in a boxing family has helped him during his swimming career. "I feel that it [being around boxers] maybe made me a bit. A lot of the coaches around swimming would say I've always been quite tough when I'm racing. Since I was a little kid you never saw me giving up. If I can't do it, it's not through lack of effort. And it's even from being a little kid going to fights, like they're unbelievable. I did train with them [his family members] a bit when I was younger but I've never done any boxing. I suppose they just made me believe that look, if you work hard you can achieve what you want to achieve, or at least give it a good go. Having cousins that actually made it as professional boxers, it gave me the idea that I can do it if I really wanted it. So it does help." (irishmirror.ie, 22 Jan 2021)

LACK OF MOTIVATION
He struggled with motivation during the first lockdown period in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He says realising how much he had fallen behind when he returned to the pool in mid-2020 helped motivate him once again. "I wasn't fully invested until August [2020]. I definitely lacked motivation. We did come back in June and I was happy to do that but my head still wasn't fully there. I wasn't my usual self. It wasn't until I saw how far off my best I was, I was so far off, that I thought I had to get myself together or I would miss the opportunity [for Olympic Games qualification]. I came around to appreciate that I'm actually in a position to focus on achieving one of my dreams since when I was a boy, whereas back in March I was just kind of upset about the whole thing and doubting if I was even bothered. I work well under pressure and I put pressure on myself. I've come too far, I'm too invested now to walk away without giving it a go. It brought a kind of hunger back. But my head wasn't fully in it until September. It's been very good since then." (irishmirror.ie, 22 Jan 2021)