Dan Jervis Pulls Out Of The 1,500m Freestyle Heats . . . Citing The After Affects Of Covid-19

By Paul Jones

Dan Jervis has pulled out of the 1,500m men’s freestyle heats in a big blow to Team Wales’ hopes of swimming medals at the Commonwealth Games.

The silver medalist four years ago at the Gold Coast was one of the favourites for the event, but has withdrawn because of the after affects of Covid.

Jervis did compete in the 400m freestyle event earlier this week in Birmingham and finished eighth, but the 1,500m – where he reached the Olympic final last year – was his priority race and he was expected to make the podium for Team Wales.

Daniel Jervis has been forced to withdraw from today’s 1500m Freestyle final.

Dan has penned a heartfelt message explaining his decision.

We’re all with you, Dan❤️ pic.twitter.com/TqIWOZnzEj

— Swim Wales (@SwimWales) August 2, 2022

But the 26-year-old posted on social media that he was withdrawing as he “simply hasn’t had the time to fully recover”.

“This is the hardest decision I have ever had to make in my sporting career,” said Jervis.

“I have worked so hard to keep away from this illness, staying away from family and friends for months, while missing out on so many special occasions.

Absolutely devastating news for Dan Jervis, who had been dreaming of going for gold tomorrow night for years.

It was the focus of his entire season and I know how hard he’d worked. https://t.co/txfwe4XCTd

— Tom Brown (@tombrownsport) August 2, 2022

“To underperform because of illness is something as a professional athlete I’m not prepared to do.

“I, and many of you, know what I am capable of and to say this is genuinely heart-breaking for me. But as hard as this decision was to take, it’s the best decision for my physical and mental health.”