Paris 2024: ‘I’m not just a swimmer, it’s not my whole identity’ – Conor Ferguson

“Just hang in there and keep doing what you are doing. Everything happens for a reason, so just keep going for it.”

Ahead of his debut at the Olympics in Paris, that’s the advice Ireland swimmer Conor Ferguson would tell his 16-year-old self.

Ferguson missed out on qualification by just 0.05 seconds for the Rio Games, the fine margins which can make or break a dream.

After a self confessed “plateau”, where Ferguson went almost four years without a personal best, he missed out on reaching the Tokyo Games by 0.7 seconds.

Again, a small margin in the grand scheme, but further away than he had been as a teenager.

Now 24 years of age, that dream is set to come to fruition in Paris with Ferguson set to lead off Ireland in the men’s 4x100m medley relay.

Despite doubts, and like he would tell his younger self, Ferguson kept doing what he was doing, and he kept going for his dream.

“It’s been a long time in the making so I’m looking forward to it,” Ferguson told BBC Sport NI.

“When you are 16 years old, the Olympics are a dream and a goal, but it’s a bit of a stretch.

“It nearly became a reality when I nearly got the time a few months earlier at trials. Just missing out was a tough one, but it didn’t really set me back too much.”