Buoyant Róisín Ní Riain building on positive Paris

With 2024 drawing to a close, swimmer Róisín Ní Riain is finally able to take stock of an incredible 12 months.

The Limerick teenager began the year with a five-medal haul at the European Championships and closed it out as the RTÉ Young Sportsperson of the Year, primarily for her achievements at the Paralympic Games.

A silver and bronze in Paris meant the Drombanna woman accounted for a third of Team Ireland's overall haul, backing up the pre-Games talk of being a leading medal contender.

That brought the curtain down on a gruelling 54-week season and the University of Limerick science student says a complete break was required after such physical and mental exertions.

"I took about five weeks off," she tells RTÉ Sport. "That's the longest I have been off since I was a child.

"It was difficult at the start, going from that high-performance pressure to studying. All I wanted to do was stay in bed."

Soaking up the moment after receiving her silver medal in Paris

After getting her head back in the books, it wasn't long before the pool routine resumed. The early part of the week is the most intense – 5.30am start times with double sessions and gym work thrown in – but the disciplined approach is second nature.

A midweek break means a return to the pool Thursday evening and a programme planned out until Saturday morning. Juggling studies, never mind a social life, is down to stringent time management.

"We don't have the stereotypical college life"

Located on campus with six other swimmers, Ní Riain is part of the sports scholarship programme with the college accommodating academic commitments around the swimming schedule in order for the athletes to excel.

"We don't have the stereotypical college life," she says. "That's what's so