Julian Fletcher had an air of contentment as he closed out his maiden Olympic Games at the Aquatics Stadium in Barra da Tijuca on Saturday.

He might not have reached his improbable goal of sneaking into the 100 metres breaststroke semi-finals after finishing third in his heat in a time of 1min 2.73sec.

However, Fletcher had achieved something far greater, a feat most people can only dream about – the realisation of a life-long ambition.

“The fact I’ve now completed an Olympic race to make me an Olympian, well, that absolutely blows my mind,” he said.

“I couldn’t be happier and more thankful to all of the people who have supported me along the way: my friends, family and coaches.”

Fletcher said he has no regrets after his performance, which was more than two tenths of a second off his personal best of 1:02.47, and felt few nerves prior to competing in front of the biggest and most atmospheric crowd of his career.

“I thought the crowd was phenomenal and I’ve never competed in front of anything like this before,” Fletcher said.

“I’ve competed in Commonwealth Games and World Championships but this was on a whole different level.

“I could hear a couple of screams from Bermuda fans and that was a sign for me to relax a bit more and just take it as another race.

“It’s very easy to get anxious too early and walking out there I felt very relaxed and ready to swim.”

Having failed to qualify for the London Games in 2012, Fletcher considered hanging up his goggles believing he had missed his best opportunity to become an Olympian.

After much soul-searching and lengthy conversations with his parents and coaches, he decided to give the Olympics one more crack and met the B standard at the Validus Bermuda National Championships in May.

He said all the struggles made his journey to Rio all the more sweet.

“It’s amazing because I’ve been working eight years for this,” said Fletcher, who competes for the Trojan Swim Club at the University of Southern California.

“Looking back at that one meet four years ago where I didn’t qualify for London – well, I can officially say I’m an Olympian now.

“More than anything else, that means the most to me.”

The 25-year-old finished behind Radomyos Matjiur of Thailand in 1:02.36 and Martin Andres Melconian Alvez of Uruguay in 1:02.67 in heat one, leaving him in fortieth position overall.

“It wasn’t a best time for me and it’s always unfortunate not to go a best time at a major competition,” Fletcher added.

“I think I probably could have taken it out a little faster and I’ll have to talk to my coach [Ben Smith].

“I think technique-wise I did great and I was right where I wanted to be and it felt like what I’ve been training for.”

It may still be in its infancy but Fletcher believes the Rio Olympics has been “phenomenal” and insists he has experienced no problems at the much-maligned Athletes’ Village.

“I have to give kudos to the organising committee and I haven’t had any problems thus far,” Fletcher said.

“Carlos Lee [Bermuda’s chef de mission] has been jumping hurdle over hurdle to get what the athletes need.

“I’m now looking forward to watching all of the other guys perform and I think we’ve got a successful team.”

Having accomplished his dream, Fletcher admits he is unsure what the future holds for his swimming career.

“I’m not sure what’s next and I’ll have to talk to my coaches and decide,” Fletcher said.

“There’s nothing set in stone yet and I will go back and talk to my coaches and see if I can pull out another two years or another four years.”

Adam Peaty of Britain shattered his own world record of 57.92 after winning heat six of the 100 breaststroke in 57.55 yesterday. He then returned to the pool in the evening to win his semi-final heat in 57.62.

It hard to imagine, however, the gold-medal favourite feeling any more satisfied with his display than Fletcher of his.