Sligo boxer Dean Clancy feels far from overawed having settled into life at the Paris Olympics as he awaits the draw on Thursday evening.
At 22, Clancy comes into the tournament as a first-time Olympian and is the present and future of the sport for Ireland.
A rising star, he has set his sights on a medal early in his career.
While the sheer scale of the Olympics is something to behold, he believes a life in the sport has prepared him for this day.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, Clancy said: "I had to pinch myself when I was waking up in Olympic Village, it's amazing. It's a surreal moment, it's been a long time waiting, and to finally be here, I'm really excited.
"I have to remind myself to be grateful to be in the position I'm in. We've trained our whole life to get here. I'm just soaking it all up and staying focused on waiting for the draw Thursday evening and taking it one fight at a time.
"I went to Buenos Aires for the Youth Olympics, I have an idea about this whole atmosphere of different sports and stuff, but it's just amazing. It is really surreal."
Kellie Harrington, Aoife O'Rourke and Michaela and Aoife Walsh have been offering pearls of wisdom when called upon.
They have the knowledge of the Olympics experience, something Clancy is keen to draw on.
"There’s no better people to have around us than likes of Kelly, Aidan, Michaela and Aoife.
"They're just perfect examples of high-performance athletes and they've been there and done that and any advice I can get off them [is very worthwhile].
"I'm only 22 myself so it's great to be surrounded by people like that, that have been there and dealt with it and been in this atmosphere and this experience and this setting before."
Clancy’s mindset has been to take the occasion away from his performances in the tournament if possible, and simply take it on as another event.
Easier said than done, and he does not want to get lost in the ring when the enormity of the experience is surrounding him.
Defeat can leave his tournament over in a matter of minutes, so his eyes are firmly on the prize.
"That is kind of the way I've always looked at most tournaments," he explained.
"I think we're always in a ring and we're always fighting someone, whether that's sparring or competition or whatever it is.
"So I'm just going to look at it as a normal tournament and not putting too much pressure on myself.
"Then it's just going to fight. I've been boxing and fighting my whole life, so that's the kind of the way I want to look at it.
"Regardless of the lights and the noise, get in there and take one round and one fight at a time. You get the gameplan off coaches for whoever we're fighting against and just implement that and go out there and for me have fun."
Passing the time in the village is not a problem and the self-appointed title of 'head barista’ while making coffee for his team-mates is one duty to help that.
But he is also learning being around different sports, speaking to other athletes and taking nuggets of information about their preparations.
The draw for the boxing tournament is on Thursday, something which is a frustration for some, but Clancy is unperturbed by that.
"There is no agony at all. A few people have said ‘oh is the draw not done', but most tournaments we go to it’s only a matter of days beforehand where the draw is done.
"Having an extra few days here means we can settle in. It’s such a large scale here that there is things to do. We can get a routine and wait for the draw.
"The team are all ready, we all know what to do, and we're all just waiting for the job, waiting for when we're in and when to go to action. When that comes we're going to be at our the best. I think we're all in our best possible shape we've ever been. I’m here for business and here for a medal."
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