Bree opts to remain with Ireland

Bree missed out on a place on Ireland's Olympic team

Andrew Bree will continue to swim for Ireland despite failing to make the country's Olympic team this year.

The Northern Ireland native toyed with the idea of declaring for Britain but he is now planning to swim for Ireland in next year's World Championships.

"To miss out on qualifying for the Olympics by really only a fingernail was a huge disappointment but these things happen in life," said Bree.

The 24-year-old will head back to his US base in Tennessee next month.

In addition to the World Championships in Montreal next July, Bree is also aiming towards competing in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006.

After being ignored by selection by the Olympic Council of Ireland for the Athens Games, Bree then turned down Swim Ireland's offer of a place in the European Short Course Championships in Vienna.

That only served to increase speculation that his days of representing Ireland were numbered but Bree has now fully committed himself to Irish swimming.

"I'm happy with the structures of Irish swimming now and happy where I am."

On Wednesday, Bree returned home from a week's holiday in Las Vegas.

That followed his participation earlier this month in the Red Bull Giants of Rio relay event in Brazil where he competed for an Irish team in a one-day relay race which featured swimming, mountain biking, hang gliding and running.

Last year, Bree won a silver medal in the 200 metres breaststroke at the European Short Course Championships in Dublin.