Mark Dry might be stepping out for his Olympic debut today but the Scottish hammer thrower insists any talk that he will be feeling the pressure is nonsense.
After being overlooked for London 2012, Dry finally gets his moment in the spotlight after being named as one of three hammer throwers in the Rio team alongside Chris Bennett and Nick Miller.
The 28-year-old has been among the top three male throwers in Britain since 2009, although his major international breakthrough came in 2014 when he claimed bronze at the Commonwealth Games.
That came in front of home fans in Glasgow – under a level of pressure and expectation he believes he will never have to face again despite today stepping out onto the biggest stage of all in Rio.
There will be two qualification groups with 12 from both combined making Friday’s final.
But while delighted to finally be making his Games bow, Dry is adamant he has not come to Rio to simply be a tourist.
“I know how it can go backwards and forwards at major events, with training and whether the facilities are up to scratch and the transport works on time, so I’ve been through that,” said the 28-year-old.
“I’ve been in the situation before where I’ve been under pressure, I’ll never be under as much pressure as I was in Glasgow. This is just a huge honour and the biggest competition of my life.
“I don’t feel like I’ll be a rabbit in the headlights and get stuck, I feel like I’m in good shape.
“It’s been such a long journey, I am just ecstatic, I got turned down four years ago for London 2012, so to finally make it is my childhood dream - the old cliché.”
Dry will undoubtedly take to the Olympic Stadium buoyed by the performance of Sophie Hitchon who on Monday became the first British woman to win an Olympic hammer medal.
The 25-year-old threw a new British record of 74.54m on her final attempt to climb from fifth to third.
Britain’s last male medal winner meanwhile came back at the 1924 Paris Olympics when Malcolm Nokes took bronze.
Although Dry believes they are getting closer to changing that fact with male hammer throwing in the country in a promising position.
“It is unbelievable to have three of us going, it’s one of the strongest events we’ve got and in the world there’s not many countries with three guys throwing over 76m, especially with several marks over that,” added Dry, who has a personal best of 76.93m.
“It has been a really big step forward, coaching in the country has been a difficulty in recent years, so to have three guys pushing each other - which I think has been vital to the whole situation - has been great.”
Sportsbeat 2016