The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the plans of Olympic hopefuls over the past year, but Irish diver Oliver Dingley has remained phlegmatic amid the uncertainty.
That composure should serve Dingley well when he tackles the rescheduled Diving World Cup, which serves as a test and qualification event for this summer's Games, in Tokyo next month.
"The event is scheduled to take place in early May, so it's coming around fast," the 28-year-old told RTÉ Sport.
"I wasn't overly disappointed when the Olympics was postponed, if anything, I had a fairly positive outlook on it.
"Really, it just gave me another year to try and hopefully get better, work on a few things I felt like I needed to work on.
"And the same for the postponement of the trials. Luckily, it's only a few extra weeks because I've felt like I've been in really good form. But I've been comfortable in the knowledge that I've been able to take that form going forward, and I'm feeling good both physically and mentally as well, and in a good place.
"Those extra few weeks have given me a bit more time to work on those small minor details that are so important in diving.
"Fingers crossed it goes ahead!"
The FINA event was originally due to be held from 18-23 April, but the sport's governing body cancelled the competition over concerns regarding Covid-19 protocols.
Dingley, who finished eighth in the 3m springboard at Rio 2016, will have a long absence to overcome in Tokyo in the first week of May, but it's a negative that will also afflict his fellow competitors.
"I haven't competed since February 2020, so that'll be nearly a year and a half ago," he added.
"My first competition after a year and a half will be the Olympic trials, trying to actually qualify for the Olympic Games.
"Having said that, everybody is in the same boat as well. Everybody has been dealt the same cards, so it's really who uses those cards to their advantage and can stay both physically and mentally fit on the day.
"I've been through the Olympic qualifying process before and it's a lot more stressful than the Olympic Games itself."
Whatever the outcome, Dingley will have little in the way of recovery time, with the World Cup drawing to a close on 6 May and the European Championships commencing in Budapest just four days later.
Oliver Dingley was speaking following the launch of the Olympic Federation of Ireland's new Olympic schools challenge Road to Tokyo, part of the Olympic Federation of Ireland’s Dare to Believe schools programme, which is proudly supported by FBD.
