'I'm not just a swimmer, it's not my whole identity'

Conor Ferguson will compete in his first Olympics for Ireland

"Just hang in there and keep doing what you are doing. Everything happens for a reason, so just keep going for it."

Ahead of his debut at the Olympics in Paris, that's the advice Ireland swimmer Conor Ferguson would tell his 16-year-old self.

Ferguson missed out on qualification by just 0.05 seconds for the Rio Games, the fine margins which can make or break a dream.

After a self confessed "plateau", where Ferguson went almost four years without a personal best, he missed out on reaching the Tokyo Games by 0.7 seconds.

Again, a small margin in the grand scheme, but further away than he had been as a teenager.

Now 24 years of age, that dream is set to come to fruition in Paris with Ferguson set to lead off Ireland in the men's 4x100m medley relay.

Despite doubts, and like he would tell his younger self, Ferguson kept doing what he was doing, and he kept going for his dream.

"It's been a long time in the making so I'm looking forward to it," Ferguson told BBC Sport NI.

"When you are 16 years old, the Olympics are a dream and a goal, but it's a bit of a stretch.

"It nearly became a reality when I nearly got the time a few months earlier at trials. Just missing out was a tough one, but it didn't really set me back too much."

'I had to ask the difficult questions'

While it was heartbreaking to fall short by such a slender margin, he admits missing out on Tokyo was "the one that set me back the most".

After being in the pool almost every day from no age at all, Ferguson decided to step away from the sport to take time "to ask myself the difficult questions".

"It was pretty easy, I'm not going to lie," Ferguson said on his decision.

"I was mentally burnt out and it was more a step back from the sport to help myself mentally.

"At the end of the day I'm just a person. I'm not 'Conor Ferguson the swimmer'. It's not my whole identity. That was something I had to realise."

However, after time out of the water, his drive was reach an Olympics was still there and "that showed me I still wanted to achieve that goal".

"I wanted to come back and I wanted to go for these Games.

"This sport doesn't define me and success doesn't define me, but if I just give up then what am I, a quitter? I had to see this right through."

Ferguson, Darragh Greene, Max McCusker and Shane Ryan will make up Ireland's Olympic medley relay team

Competing at a high level so young enabled Ferguson to learn a lot about himself.

He had competed in European and World Championships, and the Commonwealth Games for Northern Ireland, which left only the Olympics to tick off.

After taking time away from the sport after missing out on Tokyo, Ferguson said his desire to return was "where my resilience came in".

"Was I good enough to be swimming at this level? That was the hardest part.

"Coming through that, I have proven to myself that I made the right decision staying on.

"It is the pinnacle, and to call yourself an Olympian - you have to earn that."

And Ferguson has earned it with his resilience and graft. Individual qualification was out of reach once more, he will lead Ireland off in the relay on the sport's biggest stage.

"For me it was resilience, that was the one thing I've learnt from the past few years, how to deal with the bad swims and not give up at the first hurdle.

"You are still getting in the pool every day and still missing out. You hold on for another tenth and another tenth, and eventually they add up and that makes the difference."

So, what drives Ferguson? What helps him get up at 5am and train every morning?

"It's the goal of being an Olympian. That is what it takes. You look at all the superstars, they all have hard stages in their careers.

"It was asking myself those questions. Do I really want to do this? But that is what it takes to be an Olympian and that is what it takes to be great."