Cathal Dennehy: Athletes know Olympic gods can be sweet or savage

Path to Paris, a three-part documentary series made by Darragh Bambrick, presents this week aiming to show why every Olympic story, at heart, is about toiling in the shadows for a day in the sunlight

The first episode airs on Thursday and features the likes of Rhasidat Adeleke, Gearóid McDaid, Eve McCrystal and Katie-George Dunleavy.

What we see is the performance – that polished Olympian, out there on the track, in the pool or in the ring. But we rarely see their journey, the assiduous application required day after mind-numbing day, week after monotonous week – years of slow and steady progression, the work Muhammad Ali once said truly decides the outcome, long before they dance under those lights.

Every Olympic story, at heart, is about toiling in the shadows for a day in the sunlight, of a whopping investment for a potentially vast reward or, more often, none at all, except the knowledge that you squeezed every last drop out of your talent. Whether you win gold or fail to even make it there, there’s value in that.