Grace Reid insists fulfilling a childhood dream by picking up a maiden Olympic medal tonight won’t come down to five perfect dives.

It will be the result of 15 years’ endeavour and parking normal life as we know it for almost 12 months, all for a shot at making the greatest splash of them all.

The 25-year-old from Edinburgh takes the plunge for the first time in Tokyo in the 3-metres synchro beside Kat Torrance with the British duo looking for a match, at least, of their world silver in 2017.

Reid’s thrown everything at the sport by relocating to London and placing her university studies on ice. Social life curtailed. Early nights, dawn starts, long before she was thrust into the spotlight, aged just 14, as the baby of Scotland’s team at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

But the countless hours in and out of the water has not been a sacrifice at all, she claims.

“Because although it's been difficult, I just love it. I absolutely love it. I'm so enjoying the journey of getting to the best I can be. And I really hope that translates into being on an Olympic podium. But again, they're Olympic medals, they are like hen's teeth. So it's just not that simple.

“I've achieved so much now. That's one of the things that's missing. It is the thing I'm ultimately striving for, hopefully, before I hang up my costume. Every athlete would say that they have something that would define their career. But for me, it would obviously mean the world.

“But because I love what I do, the reward is in everything that leads up to it, and all the competitions before and all the rubbish bits too. A lot of people just see the Olympic medal. But it's everything that's gone on before that and that you've overcome.”

Often training in the different cities in the past, Torrance moved from her Leeds base to join her partner in London ahead of these Games to maximise their chances of a performance to remember in unison. Physically, they are an ideal match, the Englishwoman asserts. “Aesthetically, we look quite similar. We're both quite tall in the diving world. And that does actually have massive impact.”

Technically too. And in temperament, Torrance adds. “Because as an athlete, sometimes it can be hard to have different outlooks on things. You can be very black and white. Like, this is good. This is bad. Grace is very, very driven, but sometimes a bit past the point where she can keep going.

“I can stand there and say to her, 'let's leave it today, let's just chill out.' Sometimes I can be the person that's mediating, to say, get the bus at this time, or we're going to do this or that. And then Grace's like, 'yep, off we go.' Having a balance is really important.”

Fourth at the 2019 worlds, their build-up has not created the ripples they wished. Only sixth at the World Cup in the same Tokyo pool earlier this year, the pair came fourth at May’s Europeans in Budapest. It has not prevented Reid, who will also compete in the individual springboard next week, from pondering what it would be like to land, feet first, on a podium.

“I do daydream about it, obviously. Most athletes would. I get butterflies in my stomach. And then I think: 'oh my gosh, that's really exciting.' And then the immediate question I’ve asked myself is like, ‘ok, what are you doing right now that's going to help you get there?’

“If I'm sitting there with a bag of chocolate Buttons, probably not a lot. Or, actually, it's 10pm, I should probably be getting to bed now. It's a reminder to be like a bit more present. And ultimately, don't run away with the thoughts. But they're nice to make sure that I'm doing everything I can in that point in time.”