And so it came to pass for Daniel Wiffen on the outskirts of Bucharest on Sunday 10 December.
It wasn't the fact that he just won his third gold medal at the European Short Course Championships, this one in the 800 metres freestyle, but that he had set a world record. Grant Hackett's time to beat of 7:23.42 that had stood for 15 years had three second shaved off it by Wiffen.
An achievement all the more noteworthy as a stomach bug the previous night threatened his particiaption. Requiring rehydration, he then swam a few hundred metres before retiring back to bed for a five-hour nap.
He knew after his 'second sleep' that he was ready to race; ready to break a world record.
And the 22-year-old from the small village of Magheralin on the Armagh/Down border has probably not reached his prime.
Speaking to the press at a media briefing ahead of the Paris Olympics, Wiffen stated his simple goal: "I just want to beat the fastest person".
And on that drive to reach new heights, he added: "Ever since I was younger my aim has been to break a world record, and to do that I really put myself in the right situation a lot of the way," he said.
"It may sound a bit weird but I actually didn't rest to break the world record - I just turned up at the meet and swam fast.
"It’s kind of exciting to feel that way because I know I didn’t put the full preparation in and I ended up smashing a world record that’s never been touched in 10 years and I’m just looking to build on that in the next couple of months.
"I’m really looking forward to what’s going to happen."
Wiffen knows he's very much in the zone. With the ticket to Paris now secured, next month's World Championships in Doha will be used as a "pre-season benchmark" and he will be aiming for another trio of gold medals in the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle events.
"Bar one, I think I will have a full roster of people to race. I will use it as a test Olympics, same schedule, same amount of days. If something goes wrong I've got six months to fix it before the Olympics."
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Swim Ireland performance director John Rudd knows they have a special talent on their hands.
Also addressing today's briefing, he said of Wiffen: "He has a cocktail of different qualities. Physiologically he is exceptional and is able to maintain a high pace over a long distance that very few high athletes can achieve.
"Outside of that he has exceptional self-belief and confidence: one of the highest levels of self- belief that I have ever seen but it doesn't cross over into arrogance or conceit. It's just self-belief that he applies on a day-to-day basis.
"It's rare that he has a bad day at work. He is well organised and believes in his coaching system. It's a blend of cerebral qualities, emotional qualities, as well as a physiology that allows him to deliver in the events that he does. Also, perseverance; he was not a high-profile junior athlete."
And while Wiffen may not have been scaring opponents in his teenage years, admiring/fearful looks are now, it would seem, are cast in his direction from those lining up alongside him.
The rate of improvement, notable, to say the least since Wiffen started attending Loughborough University.
"When I moved to Loughborough I think I started on a 15:39 in my 1500m and just last year I brought it down to a 14:34," he said. "So that's over-a-minute drop there in three years.
"And then short-course, in 800m, I think I’ve dropped over 45 seconds. I’d say my rate of improvement is pretty scary for my opposition.
"They’re probably looking at me thinking, 'this guy drops time every time he swims’ – which I find is quite an advantage because maybe it makes this fear factor of ‘what’s he going to do next?’.
"It’s pretty cool. There are still people who I need to beat around the world, so that’s just the next box to tick, to go race world champs and try to beat them.
"I am pretty confident. I've got quite a bit of experience now, I think that’s what was lacking before, I hardly had the experience of every other athlete.
"It’s just because of the amount of work I put in – the one percent changes I have made overall and that one percent turns into 15 seconds. I know what other people do in sessions in the world and I know what I can do. I can compare it and just off training I know that I can beat them. That’s where the confidence comes from.
"You do need to keep a level head. Over the years when I was younger, I was probably a bit cocky towards it but it is really about trying to stay grounded and really produce confidence inside yourself."
And then inner self-belief is something Wiffen has taken on board since missing out on last year's World Championships.
"Before the World Champs last summer I was pretty confident I was going to win and I came fourth twice. I decided to keep my head down, keep thoughts to myself and go for it. And stay quietly confident."
