Having made her Olympic debut aged just 16 at London 2012, missing her school prom to qualify, Siobhan-Marie O’Connor came into Rio 2016 with experience under her belt, and targeting just one thing - a medal.
It had been quite an Olympiad for O’Connor. After placing 21st in the 100m breaststroke heats in the capital, narrowly missing out on a place in her first Olympic final, she went on to become England’s most decorated athlete at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, coming away with six medals, one of which was gold.
That same year, O’Connor – who celebrated her 21st birthday last month – won three silver medals at the World Championships, before adding World gold and bronze to her CV in the 4x100m mixed medley and 200m medley respectively.
Add to that two European titles, as well as silver, at this year’s Championships in London, and O’Connor had certainly sealed her spot as a medal contender for the upcoming Olympic Games.
And she didn’t disappoint.
Having qualified fastest for the 200m individual medley final, with a time of 2:07.57, she finished just 0.3 seconds behind Hungarian Katinka Hosszu’s new Olympic record to clinch silver.
In doing so, O’Connor set a new British record time of 2:06.88 for the women’s event – a stunning achievement on her sport’s greatest stage.
Reflecting back on that day, she admits it all still feels like a dream, but it is a moment she will cherish forever.
“When I realised I had won a medal, it was just absolutely amazing. I’d worked so hard towards it for so many years, so to achieve that goal that I had thought about every day was an incredible feeling,” she said.
“I didn’t think it would ever be possible so to have achieved that dream, it was a feeling that I just can’t put into words, but it was just unbelievable.
“It was a pretty special moment when the medal was put round my neck. I was looking into the crowd to spot my family and I just felt so emotional.
“A lot had gone into the medal, so it’s not just the medal, it’s the sentimental value behind it and all the blood, sweat and tears, literally, that it took to get it.
“My lasting memory of the Games will just be being a part of Team GB. For so many of us, it was just a great experience, the team did so well and it’s something I never want to end.
“We can inspire a legacy and the sport is just going to go from strength to strength – hopefully we can do even better in Tokyo in four years’ time, it’s just going to keep getting better and better.”
Sportsbeat 2016