Oliver Dingley is ready to make Irish diving history on Monday as he prepares to become the first diver in 68 years to represent Ireland at the Olympic Games.

Dingley is relishing the opportunity and has been in Rio de Janeiro preparing for the past two weeks at the Maria Lenk Aquatic Stadium.

Ireland’s last diver at an Olympic Games was Dubliner Eddie Heron in London in 1948.

Heron, who was inducted into the Swim Ireland Hall of Fame posthumously this year, competed in the preliminary round of the diving competition at the Games before the Irish Olympic team withdrew in protest over the banning of Northern swimmers.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s competition, Dingley said “Training is going well at the moment.

“The weather conditions are ever-changing, so I feel like I can put in a good performance in all conditions.

“I’ve been nursing a sore ankle, however, I feel like we are managing that well at the moment.

“I’ve been embracing the Olympic spirit and looking forward to making some Irish history one dive at a time.”

The 22-year-old qualified for the Games at the Diving World Cup at the Maria Lenk Stadium in February, in what was his only opportunity for qualification for these Games.

Dingley progressed to the semi-final in 11th place before placing 15th overall.

There will be 29 competitors in the 3m springboard on Monday. The top 18 divers from the preliminaries will progress to the semi-final and the top 12 advance to the final, both taking place on Tuesday. Divers will complete six dives in each of the rounds.