O'Connor talks post-Olympic blues as she returns to the pool

After all, the 21-year-old has experienced it twice now, but the comedown from Rio has been arguably worse after she flew home from Brazil with a silver medal to declare.

Having made her Olympic debut at London 2012, the Rio Games saw O'Connor's hard work finally come to fruition with medal success in the 200m medley.

A long break ensued, in which she rightfully spent some time away from the water, leading the 'normal' life few athletes get to experience in the run up to major competition.

But now, with her sights set firmly on Tokyo 2020, she's well and truly back in action – albeit with a few achy muscles.

"If I'm brutally honest, I've found it very difficult to get back into the swing of things, it was really tough and I think I didn't really expect it to be this hard," said O'Connor, speaking at BUCS Nationals where she was competing as a guest.

"I had such a great break, I loved it and I knew that as soon as I got back in the pool, that was it for the next four years.

"I'm slowly getting back into the routine of it now. You forget how hard a week of training is, but it will start to get easier. At the moment I'm just fighting my way back to fitness.

"Rio was all I thought about for four years, and when people talk about post-Olympic blues, I definitely know now that it is a real thing.

"Last year was really hard for me, so I needed that break and I totally switched off.

"As soon as you stop, you have no momentum compared to the last few years. My body was in total shock as soon as I started training again."

This July sees the World Swimming Championships head to Budapest, in what marks the first major meet since the Olympics.

And while O'Connor refuses to pile the pressure on herself as she eases back into competition, that's not to say she hasn't got her eyes on the prize once more.

"It's another four years until Tokyo and I'm really focused on that, but I know it's still a while away," she said.

"It's quite hard to deal with that mentally, but I just want to start enjoying my swimming again and I think as soon as I get fit again, that will come.

"The ambition for this year is definitely to be on that podium in Budapest. I just want to consolidate what I did last year, but the year after an Olympics is always a tough one.

"I don't have crazy expectations, but I do have good expectations and goals for the next three years on from that.

"I just want to take this year step-by-step, because after having that break, I am going to pay the price." Sportsbeat 2017