Jack Woolley looking to make a lasting impression during his one-day stay at the Tokyo Olympics

'We literally weigh in on the 24th, fight on the 25th, have the medal ceremony and they’re literally putting me on a plane'

Jack Woolley during the Tokyo 2020 Official Team Announcement at South Dublin Martial Arts & Fitness in Dublin. Picture: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

An Olympics can come at you fast. A lifetime of ambition and effort, four (or, in this case, five) years spent spinning through a Games cycle, and it can all slip seamlessly into the past tense in the time it takes to boil a kettle.

Rio in 2016 was just the latest proof of this fleeting life. Ciara Everard’s moment lasted just under two minutes and eight seconds, the Kilkenny woman’s effort in the 800m hampered by a foot injury that had hamstrung her preparations.