Thomas Maloney Westgaard, the cross-country skiier raised on the remote Norwegian island of Leka, believes three qualities have taken him to the top of his chosen sport: "courage, stubbornness, and a naive positivity".
How else would you flourish in the brutal world of long-distance skiing? Maloney Westgaard has put in the graft for years to earn the respect of rivals and comrades alike, his dedication rewarded with an appearance at another Olympics.
Now 30, he's about to compete in his third Winter Games for Ireland, the country of his mother Celia's birth. She met Thomas's dad Ove on holidays in the Canaries, and ended up moving from Dunmore in Co Galway to picturesque, isolated Leka, where the sun never sets in the summer and it's almost constantly dark in the winter.
Ove passed away seven years ago. Thomas continues to do him proud.
"When I first made a move somewhere five hours away from the island, not knowing no one and being far down on the result list, but still kind of believing in yourself, I would say I brought that naivety forward," reflected Maloney Westgaard, who begins his Games next Sunday in the 10km+10km skiathlon.
"Now I still kind of believe that I can beat anybody on a good day.
"That's something I always bring with me, so if it's naive or if it's, what should I say, a goal that you should have, I don't know. But I think it is good to have the dreams that you have. Even though it might look far away, you still need to work hard and no matter what, you can do it one day."
Maloney Westgaard had a good Games in Beijing back in 2022 despite contracting Covid-19 in the build-up. He was 14th in the 15km classic race, and then followed that up with 29th in the cross-country 50km. That was a marked improvement on his maiden Olympics in PyeongChang back in 2018, where he was 60th in the 15km+15km cross-country and 62nd in the 1.4km cross-country sprint.
Maloney Westgard has been part of the professional setup at Team Aker Dæhlie for almost three years now, benefiting from being around an elite environment, so expectations have been raised.
It's lonely business trudging around the roads of Leka on roller-skis. Now, he's part of a driven group, rubbing shoulders with top talent with similiar goals.
"It has really benefited me," he said. "I have a good training group that I'm with. Before it was kind of a one-man show where you had to beg in terms of joining teams or team-mates for sessions and camps, so I feel like this is a new setup where you have a coach who is really close by and is following you up in a different way than before.
"(It's) a good training group where you are training with world-class athletes several times a week and you see where the standard is all the time by getting that matching. I feel in that way it has really helped me.
"You kind of see it when you first join a team like that, the camaraderie and the team environment, you really don't know what it is about before you join it.
"It's an individual sport but at the end of the day you're really happy for others to succeed and when you are succeeding yourself they are really happy for you.
"Doing great is better now when you kind of have team-mates around you who are celebrating with you, so it's a different game in terms of that."
Maloney Westgaard is a man of fire and ice; to make it this far took guts, patience, faith and steel.
He lives for the slog, and the challenge seems to suit his personality.
"The longer it is the better it goes," he added, "because when you kind of have one gear then you feel like you're getting better the more kilometres you have in your legs. I'm not a sprinter, so in that way I really benefit by going far.
"I love the sport and yeah, I mean representing Ireland, the Olympics, it has always been the biggest dream since I've been a child. I felt like I've been improving like every year since I started professionally and in those terms I feel like there's no reason of stopping, I want to see how good I can be.
"I dream of becoming the best version of myself and keep on improving and I don't feel like I've reached the top of the roof yet.
"I'm not going to stop until I feel I have done that. That's my motivation right there."
Team Ireland schedule
Friday 6 February: Opening Ceremony – Milano (Irish in the Livigno, Cortina and Predazzo clusters)
Saturday 7 February: Cormac Comerford – Downhill (Alpine Skiing), Bormio
Sunday 8 February: Thomas Maloney Westgaard – 10km + 10km Skiathlon (Cross Country), Predazzo
Wednesday 11 February: Cormac Comerford – Super-G (Alpine Skiing), Bormio
Friday 13 February: Thomas Maloney Westgård – 10km Free (Cross Country), Predazzo
Saturday 14 February: Cormac Comerford – Giant Slalom Run 1 & 2 (Alpine Skiing), Bormio
Sunday 15 February: Anabelle Zurbay – Giant Slalom Run 1 & 2 (Alpine Skiing), Cortina
Monday 16 February: Cormac Comerford – Slalom Run 1 & 2 (Alpine Skiing), Bormio
Wednesday 18 February: Anabelle Zurbay – Slalom Run 1 & 2 (Alpine Skiing), Cortina
Thursday 19 February: Ben Lynch – Halfpipe Qualification (Freestyle Skiing), Livigno
Friday 20 February: Ben Lynch – Halfpipe Final (Freestyle Skiing), Livigno
Saturday 21 February: Thomas Maloney Westgaard – 50km Classic (Cross Country), Predazzo
Sunday 22 February: Closing Ceremony – Verona (All athletes)
