Three is the magic number. Before the start of the Olympics in Paris, Northern Ireland had brought three gold medals to these shores in the history of the summer Games.
In the space of 18 electric hours that total has been doubled and it’s brought great delight to the country.
There had been a light sprinkling of bronze and silver, but athlete Lady Mary Peters in 1972 and GB hockey players Jimmy Kirkwood and Stephen Martin in 1988 were the only ones to have stood proudly at the top of the podium.
Three more names can finally be added to that elite group.
Magheralin’s Daniel Wiffen started the golden frenzy with his stunning 800m freestyle victory for Ireland on Tuesday night.
And while he may not have got to stand on the podium, Belfast swimmer Jack McMillan more than played his part for the GB men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team. His fantastic performance in the semi-final helped the team reach the final where they struck gold.
As if that wasn’t thrilling enough, there was more drama and delight in store for local sports fans yesterday morning.
Coleraine rower Hannah Scott was part of the GB women’s quadruple sculls team — with hundreds gathering in a specially set-up fan zone in Coleraine town centre to cheer her on.
It was a close run thing. Just 200m from the line it looked like the Netherlands four were on course for gold, but a last few seconds of effort — the culmination of years of hard work and dedication — saw the GB girls take a thrilling win.
The plaudits have naturally been pouring in. And as we have seen in the last few days — including Armagh’s All-Ireland win last weekend (and they can claim another success after Daniel Wiffen’s parents confirmed he’s an Armagh man) — sport can be a real force for good and community spirit. The feel-good factor generated should not be underestimated.
And as Hannah said in her message for those who dream… ‘just go for it’. That sentiment should not only be for the young people who have the talent to succeed, it should be for those with the power to provide the support they need to reach their potential.
There can be no better feeling for any athlete than standing on top of that podium with gold shining around the neck.
There is a new golden generation to celebrate, and hopefully inspire more to follow in the years, and Olympics, to come.
Northern Ireland can rightly be proud of our gold medallists, and a new standard has been set for others to follow.