IN MOST WALKS of life, your 27th birthday is a signal of more beginnings than ends.
Hell, in most sports it’s viewed as the beginning of a career’s peak. Athletic prowess, discipline and experience come into harmony to exceed to sum of a sportsperson’s parts.
Swimming is not usually seen as one of those sports.
At last year’s Olympic Games, the names of Chad Le Clos (20), Missy Franklin (17), Yi Shiwen (16) and Rūta Meilutytė (15) took many of the headlines. The elephant in the shallow end? Michael Phelps, the most successful swimmer of all time, retired before his 28th birthday.
Barry Murphy enters the World Championships in Barcelona tomorrow at that grand old age of 27, but Barry Murphy is feeling in exceptionally good form these days.
It wasn’t always like this. The north Dubliner seriously considered “hanging up the togs” less than a year ago.
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“The [Olympic] Games are the pinnacle of the sport and it’s every four years,” he tells TheScore.ie in his familiar surrounds of the National Aquatic Centre this week. At the time I was thinking, ‘another four years was a long stint,’ but I got back in and I still feel I’ve got a lot to offer.
“The thing about the Olympics for me is, my best event isn’t in it. So I’ve to go outside my comfort zone and swim something that’s probably my third or fourth best event and try to qualify in that. It’s unfortunate how it works out.”
The fact that his favoured 50 metre breaststroke is not an Olympic discipline – it exists at every other major meet in the calendar – originally meant Murphy was also excluded from Swim Ireland’s selection criteria for Barcelona. His eyebrows rise behind a large set of hipster frames as he explains that that is a subject he could rant long and hard about, just not today.
Fortunately, Murphy managed to force the hand of performance director Peter Banks who recommended he be called up on the basis of his form in the event this year – more specifically, the fact that he is among the top 10 fastest men in 2013.
“I had written off going, pretty much,” he says before signalling an intent to make the vote of confidence count: “It would have been a shame for me not to go over there and contest. I was delighted to go and I’m going to take advantage of it now and try to do my best.”
A wry smile creases the stubble on his face when we cheekily label him ‘the old man’ of a three-strong squad going to Spain. There is a fourth Irish swimmer at the World Championships, but 23-year old Chris Bryan has already completed his grueling 10 kilometre endurance race and so Murphy is in no danger of viewing this as anything other than a business trip.
“It’s been a gradual thing. I’ve been on the international scene for a while now and for the last couple of years I’ve been the only guy going to these meets. So in one sense I’m used to it by now, but in another sense there’s not much craic at these things being the only lad there.
“I’m going to go over there and just go through the routine I’ve been going through the last few years and look to perform on the day. Hopefully it goes well.”
He adds: “We’ve done the work for it, so the confidence is right there. I’ve been swimming fast consistently all summer and I’m just looking to build on it. I’m going into this meet in a good place, mentally as well as physically.
“Usually I have trouble maintaining weight on taper, I lose weight really fast, but my weight is good, I feel strong and I’m physically bigger than I have been before. So I’m in a good place.”
That ‘good place’ comes from reconciling his role in the greater scheme of Irish swimming. Primarily he rowed back from the brink of retirement for weeks like this, a chance to test himself directly against the likes of Cameron van der Burgh or Kevin Cordes. However, there was also another much more selfless and less tangible role he could see for himself.
“I was looking where Irish swimming is right now. We have a great group of young guys coming through – 17 and 18 year olds – that are all exceptionally talented. And the structures are in place in Ireland that is going to develop that talent and bring it along. In four years, and more so in eight, we’re going to reap the benefits of the structures in place and the talented kids we have.
“Hopefully, training with kids like Brendan Hyland, Andrew Meegan and Brendan Gibbons – they’ve all come along and made international meets this summer, they’re going over to the US open in a couple of weeks – I’d like to think I helped out a bit, because they are talented guys, really fast swimmers and we do have some good races and good battles in practice. I just want to lend a hand.”
Even with his name against 11 national records, Murphy’s greatest achievements may still be around the corner.
Murphy building for future by making the most of World Championship chance
IN MOST WALKS of life, your 27th birthday is a signal of more beginnings than ends.
Hell, in most sports it’s viewed as the beginning of a career’s peak. Athletic prowess, discipline and experience come into harmony to exceed to sum of a sportsperson’s parts.
Swimming is not usually seen as one of those sports.
At last year’s Olympic Games, the names of Chad Le Clos (20), Missy Franklin (17), Yi Shiwen (16) and Rūta Meilutytė (15) took many of the headlines. The elephant in the shallow end? Michael Phelps, the most successful swimmer of all time, retired before his 28th birthday.
Barry Murphy enters the World Championships in Barcelona tomorrow at that grand old age of 27, but Barry Murphy is feeling in exceptionally good form these days.
It wasn’t always like this. The north Dubliner seriously considered “hanging up the togs” less than a year ago.
“The [Olympic] Games are the pinnacle of the sport and it’s every four years,” he tells TheScore.ie in his familiar surrounds of the National Aquatic Centre this week. At the time I was thinking, ‘another four years was a long stint,’ but I got back in and I still feel I’ve got a lot to offer.
“The thing about the Olympics for me is, my best event isn’t in it. So I’ve to go outside my comfort zone and swim something that’s probably my third or fourth best event and try to qualify in that. It’s unfortunate how it works out.”
The fact that his favoured 50 metre breaststroke is not an Olympic discipline – it exists at every other major meet in the calendar – originally meant Murphy was also excluded from Swim Ireland’s selection criteria for Barcelona. His eyebrows rise behind a large set of hipster frames as he explains that that is a subject he could rant long and hard about, just not today.
Fortunately, Murphy managed to force the hand of performance director Peter Banks who recommended he be called up on the basis of his form in the event this year – more specifically, the fact that he is among the top 10 fastest men in 2013.
A wry smile creases the stubble on his face when we cheekily label him ‘the old man’ of a three-strong squad going to Spain. There is a fourth Irish swimmer at the World Championships, but 23-year old Chris Bryan has already completed his grueling 10 kilometre endurance race and so Murphy is in no danger of viewing this as anything other than a business trip.
“It’s been a gradual thing. I’ve been on the international scene for a while now and for the last couple of years I’ve been the only guy going to these meets. So in one sense I’m used to it by now, but in another sense there’s not much craic at these things being the only lad there.
“I’m going to go over there and just go through the routine I’ve been going through the last few years and look to perform on the day. Hopefully it goes well.”
He adds: “We’ve done the work for it, so the confidence is right there. I’ve been swimming fast consistently all summer and I’m just looking to build on it. I’m going into this meet in a good place, mentally as well as physically.
“Usually I have trouble maintaining weight on taper, I lose weight really fast, but my weight is good, I feel strong and I’m physically bigger than I have been before. So I’m in a good place.”
That ‘good place’ comes from reconciling his role in the greater scheme of Irish swimming. Primarily he rowed back from the brink of retirement for weeks like this, a chance to test himself directly against the likes of Cameron van der Burgh or Kevin Cordes. However, there was also another much more selfless and less tangible role he could see for himself.
“Hopefully, training with kids like Brendan Hyland, Andrew Meegan and Brendan Gibbons – they’ve all come along and made international meets this summer, they’re going over to the US open in a couple of weeks – I’d like to think I helped out a bit, because they are talented guys, really fast swimmers and we do have some good races and good battles in practice. I just want to lend a hand.”
Even with his name against 11 national records, Murphy’s greatest achievements may still be around the corner.
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barcelona 2013 Barry Murphy Breaststroke Interview Sprinter Swim Ireland Swimming World Championships