Mona McSharry can find it difficult to forget her Olympic exploits in Paris in 2024.
The Sligo woman took bronze in the 100m breaststroke two years ago and has since turned professional, taking on swimming full-time in the run in to the next games in Los Angeles in 2028.
McSharry trains out of Tennessee, where there is a reminder of what she has achieved at every training session.
"We have a banner up in our in the pool that I train in that has all of the Olympic athletes that have ever competed (at the Olympics), who went through Tennessee," she explains on RTÉ's Inside Sport.
"I'm up there and there's a bronze medal beside my name. So when I take a look at that or when someone asks me about it, it is nice to be reminded. 'Yeah, I did make it onto the podium there and I am good enough to compete against the best.'
"That definitely does give a little bit of confidence too."
McSharry was back in the City of Lights just last month where she added three more medals to her haul.
The then 25-year-old claimed silver in the 100 metre breaststroke at the European Aquatics Championships, as well bronze in the 50m and 200m in the same discipline.
"That was probably the most consistent competition I've ever had," McSharry says.
"Being able to perform in all three events and coming away with two PBs and, in the 200, very close to my best time, showing myself that the training is working and that I'm still improving and getting better always.
"It's a great stepping stone towards the big goal, which is L.A."
Since turning pro, McSharry admits that there have been positives and negatives.
Additional recovery time is the big plus, but the distraction of studying for her Masters in Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication is gone.
It means finding other ways to unwind and take her mind off the pressures of regular training, including a recent campervan trip across the United States.
"I do consider this my job and there are much worse jobs I could be doing," McSharry says.
"It is a lot of hard work but I'm so used to this routine that taking time away and then coming back, I was like, 'this actually isn't that bad.'
"But for me, the biggest part about taking a break was just realising that obviously I'm not going to be traveling around America in a camper for the rest of my life.
"Just reminding myself that I am more than just the athlete, more than just a swimmer or an Olympic bronze medalist.
"I could disappear and just enjoy the other things that I like to do, so I think that was good for me too because it highlighted for me that if I was going to be done with swimming, that's OK.
"I'm excited for the next chapter, too."
But before that next chapter can begin, there's the build up to LA, and the chance to try to better what she already achieved in Paris.
McSharry says she has a target in her mind but she's trying not to focus too much on it while she trains.
"I've had problems in the past where like, 'ok, yes, I'm a bronze medalist, so the next step for me is silver or gold (but) it's it's just not that linear," she says.
"The fact that I have more experience behind me now, I can look at it more objectively and realise that there's four years between Paris and LA.
"New athletes come on, old athletes retire. People who were in that final but were only at the start of their career are now performing better, so I think it's it's an ever changing field.
"I can only really control how fast I go, so I think my goal is to be faster than I was in Paris and to constantly be pushing that barrier and then to just make it to the final and race what's in that final and try not to put any on uncontrollable expectations on myself."
