He may have only lived in Dublin for 12 months, but there is no doubting Shane Ryan's Irish roots as he prepares to take the Olympic plunge.
The 22-year-old represented the United States at international level before switching allegiance to Ireland and now competes in Rio in green.
"It was a very, very hard decision. But I needed to do what's best for myself and to reach my dreams," Ryan said.
"The US coaches said it was up to me. It was a year out, I talked to my coaches and they were like 'go for it'.
"I made the right decision. I'm a different person now to what I was when I came over here."
He took a year out from university at Penn State, but the gamble paid off as he joins Nicholas Quinn and Fiona Doyle in a streamlined Ireland swimming squad for Rio.
Ryan was born and raised in Pennsylvania, but qualifies through his father Tom, one of 10 sons and daughters of Portarlington, County Laois.
Ryan added: "My dad is one of 10. He moved over to the US to play Gaelic football when he was 17, 18 years old."
He met Ryan's mother, Mary Beth, and the rest is history.
The remainder of the Ryan family is in Portarlington, including "tons" of cousins.
After an arduous week of training in Dublin, Ryan travels west for some home comforts, staying with an aunt.
"Every weekend I go down to see my family," said Ryan, whose parents, brother Brendan and sister Tara are travelling to Rio to see him in action.
"(My dad is) the only one living in the States, everyone else is in Portarlington. It's great to get down there, see them, have a good home cooked meal."
Ryan makes his Olympic debut in the 100 metres backstroke on Sunday and will also compete in the 50m and 100m freestyle.
