Practice makes perfect - but it does not necessarily make Olympians.
At the very sharpest end of competitive sport, success is in the genes.
They say it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert in a particular field, however no amount of sprints will compensate for a lack of fast-twitch muscle fibres.
Are gold medallists born or made? Both, probably, and over the next couple of weeks we will marvel at these supreme athletes as they chase their dreams in Paris.
Lifetimes have been dedicated to their quests for glory. And while the majority of us can't even fathom how good you have to be to grace this stage, there is one particular strain of competitor that is distinctly impressive: the late starter.
Not all of Ireland's representatives have specialised in their chosen fields since they were barely out of the crib. Some have come to their sports in their late teens or even 20s; albeit possessing the common trait of outstanding natural sporting ability that's allowed them to adapt and excel exceptionally quickly.
These are the 'good at everything' people we all envy.
There's Megan Armitage, who went from playing hockey and doing some casual running to becoming a top-class marathoner while studying Law and French in UCD. Without any formal coaching, she finished third in the Cork City Marathon.
The 28-year-old Offaly woman only took up cycling seriously during Covid-19 lockdown, when an injury hampered her running training. Armitage's progress has been sensational. After graduating, she competed in Belgian kermesses (a style of road race) and then in 2021 earned a runner-up finish at National Championships.
Last year Armitage became the first Irishwoman to win a UCI-ranked stage race with her general classification victory at the Vuelta Extremaduras Feminas.
She signed for the UCI Continental Tour team and finished 24th at the Thuringen Tour in June. Although illness ruled her out the Giro earlier this month, Armitage heads for the Olympic road race in good shape, doubtless believing that anything is possible.
Mia Griffin is another cyclist who has taken an unusual route to the top. As a teenager, Griffin dreamed of winning Camogie All-Irelands with Kilkenny.
She played minor with the county, but a talent ID drive from Cycling Ireland in 2017 changed her course dramatically.
Griffin - persuaded by her mam to go along - shone at the trials, which involved a six-second sprint test and a three-minute endurance test on a stationary bike. She never looked back, claiming bronze at the Under-23 Track European Championships in the individual pursuit in 2020 and then winning two Rás na mBan stages in 2023.
The 25-year-old is part of the women's track cycling team in Paris.
Dr Philip Doyle was in his 20s before he embarked on a rowing career. Now he's heading to his second Olympics.
In 2014 the Belfast man was working part-time in a clothes shop where he met a guy who rowed for UCD. Doyle had been a fine schools hockey player, but his new friend urged him to pick up the oars and give it a try.
Also studying medicine at Queens University at that time, Doyle went to the uni gym and had a go on the rowing machine. Straight away his natural power was evident.
He made his international debut in 2018 at World Rowing Cup III in the men's single sculls, and ever since he's been a fixture in Ireland's double sculls crew, winning silver at the 2019 World Rowing Championships alongside Ronan Byrne. The pair were 10th overall at the Tokyo Games. He also won bronze with Daire Lynch at the 2023 World Championships.
Skills are transferrable of course and Jordan Conroy is the perfect example of that. Back in 2016, Ireland's Rugby 7s head coach Anthony Eddy was looking for a few speedsters to get more pace into his team.
He asked one of his players, Foster Horan, if he knew anyone quick. Conroy was a good friend of Horan's. As a kid, the Offalyman channelled his endless energy into athletics - he was a brilliant sprinter and hurdler. He was also a talented soccer player, but it was only after Conroy became involved with Tullamore RFC when he was 18 that his sporting career took off.
Conroy needed time to master the basics, admitting he had a loose grasp of the rules and initially struggled to pass the ball. But his immense speed made him an incredible attacking weapon.
A video of him running the length of the field to score a try just 21 seconds after the kick-off did the rounds. Horan saw it, showed it to Eddy and a 7s star was born.
Jennifer Lehane was 20 years old before she put on a pair of boxing gloves. A primary school teacher in Ashbourne Co Meah, Lehane's first passion was taekwondo. She won two European titles in the sport in 2018 and 2019, as well as silver at the Junior World Championships and bronze in the senior Worlds.
While studying at DCU, Lehane was intrigued by the positive feedback she'd heard about the college boxing club. She paid it a visit and flourished, winning an Irish Elite title within a year. Two years ago, Lehane paused her teaching career to focus completely on boxing.
In June, the gamble paid off when she sealed her ticket to the Games by winning the women's 54kg (bantamweight) quarter-finals against Hanna Lakotar of Hungary at the Olympic Boxing Qualification Tournament in Bangkok.
Aoife O'Rourke is another fighter who came late to the ring.
O'Rourke initially joined Castlerea Boxing Club aged 17 to enhance her fitness for playing Gaelic football. Soon, football got the boot as the fighting bug took hold. O'Rouke wasn't even aware of the concept of making weight when she started out, but once the bouts began, she proved to be a natural.
In 2019 the Roscommon native secured middleweight gold at the European Championships in Madrid.
When Covid escalated, she convinced her younger sister Lisa to become her sparring partner. By December 2022 the pair were given the Freedom of Roscommon due to their achievements in the ring.
Aoife made it to the Tokyo Games and then claimed European gold; Lisa won World Championship gold on her debut appearance at that level. They continue to fuel each other in the quest for more success.
Two more late starters proving there's always time to answer destiny's call.
Watch the 2024 Olympic Games with 14 hours of televised action on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player each day. Listen to extensive radio coverage on RTÉ Radio 1 and 2fm's Game On and follow each moment from Paris on RTÉ.ie, the RTÉ News app and all RTÉ digital platforms. Listen to the daily RTÉ Sport Olympics Podcast.
