TVS SCS Support British Athlete Kieran Bird

TVS Supply Chain Solutions is proud to be supporting British Swimmer, Kieran Bird. Kieran is 21 years old and will be competing in the 400m and 800m Freestyle this summer in Tokyo. Kieran has kindly allowed us to write a profile of him and his journey to becoming an Elite Athlete.

Kieran started swimming when he was three years old and has continued with it ever since. When he was nine he joined his first competitive swimming club which he absolutely loved, from there he moved up to swim at county level, then regional and then competed in his first national competition when he was just 14 years old. The following year he competed at the European Youth Olympics and then continued his path and gained a scholarship at Millfield School in Somerset.  After completing his A-Levels, he moved to the British Swimming National Centre in Bath to continue swimming at senior level.  He then got selected to represent Great Britain  in Tokyo  which will become his debut in a senior competition.

Throughout his life Kieran has been inspired by sporting figures such as Michael Phelps and Steven Gerard. He admires Phelps as one of the most decorated athletes in the world and of course he is the pinnacle of swimming so what swimmer wouldn’t admire him. His favourite athlete however, is Steven Gerard because of his ability to cope well under pressure and his leadership style (and Kieran is a Liverpool FC fan).

Kieran has been training for over twelve years to make it to where he is today, he has overcome challenges such as falling out of love with swimming around the time of his GCSE’s due to the stress of trying to fit training around his revision schedule. But once he had completed his GCSE’s he fell back in love with swimming and continued to pursue his goal of reaching the Olympics.

His current training regime sees him spend upwards of forty hours per week training, eating and resting correctly to help give him the best chance competing on the world stage. Outside of training Kieran likes to relax with his friends and family, particularly on Sunday when his mum cooks his favourite (Roast Dinner) and he is also learning to become fluent in Spanish.

We asked Kieran for one piece of advice that he would give to somebody and he said: “Just keep enjoying what you do and find ways to ensure you continue to enjoy it.  You need to find ways to balance the hard work, commitment and determination needed, whilst getting enjoyment too.”

Kieran told us that it would mean absolutely everything to him to win an Olympic medal.  From the entire team at TVS SCS we wish Kieran the best of luck in Tokyo and we will all be cheering him on from home!