Irish gymnast Emma Slevin has her sights set on qualifying for the Olympics after making her mark at collegiate level in the US.
The Galway native was back on home soil at the weekend where she became the Women's Artistic FIG Senior All-Around champion at the Gymnastics Ireland National Series which were held in Dublin's National Indoor Arena.
But since last year, the 23-year-old has been at the University of Minnesota where she competes with their Gophers collegiate gymnastics team, reaching the final four of the NCAA Four On The Floor recently.
Speaking to RTÉ's Inside Sport, Slevin, who is the twin sister of Galway ladies footballer and ex-Athlone Town midfielder Kate, said it's a decision that has been paying off.
"It was good to be back on home soil and to take the win was the cherry on top for sure," she said of her achievement at the weekend, before explaining her decision to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
"I graduated out of UCD last summer and had plans to go on and do a Masters there.
"But I just found the balance between my academics and sport, it was getting difficult and I think even with the Masters it would have been harder.
"I knew there was a great sport-academic balance in the States so I looked into it, not really thinking too much about it at first.
"I was just curious and then one thing led to another and I ended up going over and visiting a few places and really, really thought that it would be a good opportunity for me, and so I went and within a month I had moved over there.
"I just feel we're so well supported over there and the environment is exactly what you need as a student athlete.
"At least for me, it made the world of a difference. Everything is just so convenient. I like to say I'm treated like a professional athlete over there."
Between January and April, Slevin was competing every weekend at collegiate level, which allows her to hone her skills for the future compared to back home in Ireland previously when competitions were more sparsely scheduled.
That is particularly crucial as she tries to build a head of steam with major championships on the horizon and the dream of reaching an Olympic Games at LA 2028.
"Next will be the European Championships in the summer at the end of August, so that will be my next big outing and another chance to represent my country which I'm really excited about," Slevin said.
"(Olympic qualification) is definitely a difficult process. But next year, 2027, in October we'll have world championships and that will be the qualifier for the all-around individual.
"So that's the goal to get there and hopefully qualify out of there.
"The standards are so high and I think to be at that level, it takes a lot of sacrifice. But you want to be top-24 all-around of the world, so difficult but nothing that's not achievable which is exciting to know.
"But a lot of hard work and dedication it takes as the standards are really high."
