DIVING: Bryan's Unfinished Business

FORMER world junior champion Bryan Nickson Lomas is a diver on a double mission as the 23-year-old wants to earn a degree and win an Olympic medal before he retires from the sport.

Bryan, a bronze medallist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, hopes to achieve his first goal in 2015 before shifting his focus on qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Although, the diver was granted six months leave to concentrate on his sport science degree at Universiti Malaya, he hasn't stopped training as he is still on a strict six-day training schedule.

Bryan, also a double silver medallist at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, is preparing for the World University Games, scheduled for July 6-17 in Kazan, Russia and the Myanmar Sea Games in December.

The three-time Olympian, however, will not compete in the World Championships in Barcelona (July 19-Aug 4) and the six-leg World Series which begins in Beijing (March 15-17).

"I want to complete my studies first as I do not want to regret later. I need a paper qualification to pursue other things after I retire," Bryan told Timesport yesterday.

"The Olympics is equally important and naturally, after three outings, I want to achieve something memorable in Rio."

Despite being on a break, Bryan has been clocking at least six hours a day in training to maintain his fitness.

"On a normal day, I train eight hours but now I train less because of classes but I still train a full schedule whenever I am free.

"I should be back to full time training by April or May to prepare for the World University Games."

The Kuching-born, named after former England international Bryan Robson by his football fan father, begun university in 2009 but deferred several semesters due to his commitments to the sport.

"I am now on my first semester after the university informed me that I needed to start from scratch. I made the decision to take a short break because I do not want to end up like some of my seniors, who have not graduated.

"Although I will miss several important assignments this year, those events do not have a bearing on Olympic qualification.

"Anyway, it will be tough for me to compete against the best at the world meet as I am not 100 per cent fit," said Bryan.

He is determined to make an impact in his fourth Olympic outing in Rio following a poor performance at last year's edition in London, where he could only finish eighth in the 3-metre springboard synchro with China-born Huang Qiang and 19th in the 10m platform.

"I want to win an Olympic medal before I retire and I believe I will be in the best condition to achieve it in 2016," Bryan added.

Read more: DIVING: Bryan's unfinished business - Other - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/sports/other/diving-bryan-s-unfinished-business-1.219651#ixzz2RFbsbmxm