“I’M LIKE the old man in the corner of the pub somewhere saying ‘I remember back in the day’”.
That might not be Shane Ryan’s only role at this Olympics but his presence is a reminder of how Irish swimming has grown.
Pennsylvania native Ryan — whose father Thomas hailed from Portarlington — arrived in Ireland in 2015 to complete a one-year residency to enable him to compete in the Rio Games.
The move might have offered a route to becoming an Olympian but it was neither glamorous nor profitable.
He arrived on these shores with €50 in his back pocket and initially lived on the Sports Campus Ireland, while counting the cents to feed himself.
The payback has come with qualification for a third successive Games. Only Fionnuala McCormack of the 133-strong team for Paris has more experience under her belt.
A dozen of those are swimmers, a 300 per cent increase from eight years ago, when none of them advanced past their heats.
Ryan recalled: “We had a team of three people — me, Nicholas Quinn and Fiona Doyle, which is crazy to think.
“The last time we had nine.”
It was not the only difference, with Rio marking the end of Pat Hickey’s reign over what was then the Olympic Council of Ireland.
Brazilian cops swooped on him as part of an investigation into ticket-touting and other alleged offences.
A number of charges were subsequently dropped against Hickey, who maintained his innocence.
The new OFI has stressed its athlete-centred approach but it is more than just words to Ryan.
He recalled: “Yeah, 2016 was not great.
“Just the whole Pat Hickey thing but that’s a negative and I don’t want to talk about it.
“I’ve great things to say about them.
“It has been a complete change and I love everyone in the OFI.
“Everyone is willing to do anything they can. They’re so welcoming.
“It’s great to see how much people are caring.
“It looks like they love what they do. I appreciate them all.”
MODEL STUDENT
Ryan, 30, did not hang around in Rio to sample the full Olympic experience after competing, figuring there would be another chance to do so.
He said: “I left early, I didn’t spend that second week in the village.
“I had to go back to get my degree.
“I was young and naive and said, ‘I’ll just go to the next Olympics’ and I did, but Covid hit.”
The absence of supporters was not the only challenge.
Ryan went into the Games with a shoulder injury.
It prompted him to withdraw from the 100m backstroke to ensure it did not force him out of the 4x200m freestyle relay.
He recalled: “If I did something to my shoulder in the 100m back and had not been able to swim the relay, I would have been in big, big trouble.
“I had to be selfless and think about the other guys on the relay.
“They were there just to do the relay so I scratched the 100m backstroke.
“Then I got a great opportunity to swim the 100m fly afterwards and I got Brendan Hyland’s record.
“I remember getting a text off him coming back saying, ‘I’ll see you in April, well done’.
“Max McCusker has my record which I’m delighted about. Records are meant to be broken.”
TEAM PLAYER
Ryan claimed a new national record last month when he swam the 50m freestyle in 21.82 in his heat at the European Aquatics Championship.
But Tom Fannon had already secured the spot in that event at the Ireland Olympic trials in May with a time of 21.94.
Ryan is philosophical about missing out on an individual qualification and is looking forward to joining forces with Fannon, McCusker and Darragh Greene in the relay.
Ryan said: “It has been a rollercoaster of emotions.
“I took a different route. I missed my qualification in our Olympic trials, our last chance to qualify individually by 0.1 seconds.
“I had to wrap my head around that.
“But I’m there to swim the medley relay and it’s what’s best for Team Ireland.
“I can hold my head up high and say I’m a three-time Olympian.
“We could potentially make history and make a final.
“I’m going to block everything out and I’ll try to focus on the swimmer coming into the wall and me jumping off that block as far as I can and getting in the water and getting out as far as I can.”
Of course, the ambitions of others — most notably Daniel Wiffen but also Mona McSharry — extend beyond merely making finals.
It is a second Games for both and Ryan has been as impressed as anyone with how Wiffen has kicked on.
He said: “He was talking like he was going to win Olympic gold, which was good.
“That’s something a lot of people need to learn, self-confidence, and Daniel has that.
“He has got to make sure he stays focused on the process and enjoys it, then just go out and race and be a competitor.”
And, for the first-timers, he is happy to dole out advice to anyone who is willing to listen.
But he also intends to savour what may be his final Games.
Ryan said: “Representing Ireland in a relay at an Olympics is one of the best things.
“It’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime Games in one of the world’s most famous cities.”