When Orla Comerford burst onto the scene in 2016, it was evident to those within Irish athletics that the 18-year-old had a high ceiling.
The Rio Games placed her on the global stage, reaching a Paralympic final and serving notice that a podium position in Tokyo was a realistic ambition.
What transpired however was something quite different. When the delayed Games finally came around, a torn hamstring just before her competition meant taking her place in her heat was a feat in itself.
Yet a final appearance was always unlikely, the death of her coach Brian Corcoran a huge blow given their close working relationship.
The planning involved in the next cycle has not been without its challenges either, the 2022 season a complete write-off with a hamstring injury that sidelined her for eight months.
Watch the moment as @orla_comerford greets her family and many friends in the wake of her winning a bronze medal at @Paris2024
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With a career peppered with injuries, the ability to continually pick herself back off the canvas has been rewarded in the French capital, delivering bronze in the T13 100m.
"I'm absolutely delighted for her," Head of Paralympic Athletics James Nolan said.
"To see her winning a Paralympic medal eight years after coming into Paralympics Ireland’s Fast Track programme is fantastic.
"We always saw her potential. It is unusual for someone to stick with it through all those injuries over a long period of time, but she has got her reward for all the serious hard work and determination."
Róisín Ní Ríain's second medal of the Games added to the sense of occasion, with the Raheny Shamrock athlete only discovering the achievement of the Limerick swimmer from the assembled media.
"We are bronze sisters tonight," she said. "There has just been a great atmosphere, and that was something, I don't think we noticed that was lacking in Tokyo, everything was just so separate.
"It has been such a joy to get to know people a bit better and celebrate and commiserate together. That has been really special."
A blistering start – the second quickest out of the traps – ensured bronze was secured by halfway, Kym Crosby of the United States finishing half a second in her wake.
On the biggest stage, she was two hundredths of a second outside her PB.
"She came very close to her lifetime when it mattered," says Nolan. "Her body has now allowed her to do what she has the potential to do."
The performance was also for those not present.
The tight bond with her former coach’s family is as strong as ever, with members of the Corcoran family part of the green entourage, the blue hair ribbons whistling in the wind as she scorched to the line were a nod to her friend Elaine Moran, a school friend who died suddenly aged 16.
A Paralympic flag bearer one week, bronze medallist the next, the surreal nature of her Paris experience isn't diluting her ambition in any way, already plotting out her path.
Her belief that a word record would be required to take gold was proven true, with winner Lamiya Valiyeva and second-placed Rayane Soares da Silva both smashing the previously held record of 11.79.
That inner belief that has served her well throughout her career was evident in the Stade de France mixed zone.
"I just feel like there is a lot more in the tank," she said. "I reckoned at the start of the year that it was going to take a world record to win it, that’s what I had my eyes on.
"I know that was ambitious, but I think that is well within my wheelhouse, so I’m excited for the next cycle to push on towards that and faster."
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