Aged just 26, Mansfield born swimmer Oliver Hynd is to step away from swimming and the possibilities of appearing in the Tokyo Olympics later this year to pursue other interests and to ‘ensure’ that his own health and wellbeing stays at the forefront of his immediate attention.

An MBE educated at the Ashfield School and a Paralympian with three gold medals, four world championship golds and six European swimming golds, Hynd is one of the best disabled athletes in the world, having neuromuscular myopathy, he is an ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy UK Charity.

In a statement made by Hynd today, he mentioned “Unfortunately I have to make a really difficult decision following on from a challenging few years, regarding my classification and of course the impact Covid has on us all, as elite athletes.”

It goes on “For the moment, I will be stepping away from the programme and competitive swimming to focus on other initiatives and to ensure that my health & wellbeing are the main priority moving forward.

“I would wholeheartedly like to thank my sponsors, teammates, coaching team and more importantly supporters, who have been instrumental in every achievement I have made in and out of the pool.

“Although Tokyo 2021 isn’t in my short-term swimming plans, you never know what may be around the corner.

“Thank you again to all for being alongside me in what has been an awesome time”.

Hynd who is a member of the Nova Centurion Swim Club, made his international debut in 2011 where he beat his brother Sam’s European record in the 200m medley to win the European Championship final.

He largely came to fame in 2012 at the London Olympics, winning three medals including gold in the SM8 200m medley and followed that up with two golds at the Rio Olympics four years later.

Hynd finished his statement with a tweet to his team-mates stating “I would like to wish my team-mates the best of luck this summer in Tokyo. I know you will all be prepared to deliver a great performance and I will be cheering you all on.”

*Main image @olliehyndgb the swimmer has been one of the best ever Paralympians from the UK.