Chase your dreams on the Olympic fast lane but don’t get stuck in traffic

The Sydney Olympics was 16 years ago. That was the last time I didn’t pack a bag and get on a plane to chase an Olympic dream as part of an Irish team.

When the Games lit up Sydney I had just finished my Leaving Certificate and I had missed qualifying for the Irish team by a couple of metres. Not a huge amount in the normal world but substantial in the world of elite sprinting. I was far enough from qualifying not to feel hard done by but close enough to become determined that four years later I would qualify for the Olympic team.

I watched every part of those Games 16 years ago. I absorbed the whole spectacle from my student accommodation at UCD. I screamed when Sonia O’Sullivan was battling down the home straight with Gabriella Szabo and won her Olympic medal. I was probably the only fresher staying up late at night to drink tea and watch the Olympics!