Standing tall

JOE O’REGAN: the Royton water polo ace never envisaged becoming an Olympian.

WATER POLO:


WHEN Royton’s Joe O’Regan gave water polo a try at the age of 13, he could never have imagined that eight years later he would become an Olympian.

Back then it was just another way to hang out with buddies from Our Lady’s School — now known as Newman College — in his spare time.

But his interest in water polo grew almost as quickly as he did — Joe now stands at a towering 6ft 9in.

One dazzling display after another for Royton Waterpolo Club led to North-West regional training with City of Manchester.

He later sealed a year-long move to the Hungarian League and, eventually, the first call to represent his country in 2010.

Two years of reputation-enhancing performances in tournaments and training camps earned Joe what he describes as “unreal” — selection for the Great Britain squad for the London 2012 Olympics.

The 21-year-old said: “When I first started out it was basically to try it out and then develop the hobby, after one of my mates at Our Lady’s encouraged me to give it a go.

O’Regan spent the 2010-11 season living in Hungary, where he played for club side Pecs.

He became an ever-present for Great Britain and shone in the narrow defeat to Russia in the FINA World League clash in Manchester — which boosted his Olympic chances.











Follow us on Twitter - @OldhamChronicle