The opening ceremony of the Olympics Games is the moment when Katura Horton-Perinchief may take pause for reflection after a whirlwind year.

The chef de mission for Bermuda’s Olympic team has spent the last 12 months leaving no stone unturned as she tries to ensure that the athletes and their support teams want for nothing as they prepare for the biggest event of their life.

Twenty years ago, in Athens, Horton-Perinchief was herself preparing to compete as a diver and she feels that was easier than handling logistics for an entire team.

“The athletes are the only ones that matter,” Horton-Perinchief said.

“That being said our coaches and our officials need to be at their best as well. It’s not just managing athletes, it’s making sure coaches get to their technical meetings, they have their manuals and their schedules for buses.

“All these things fall on the chef’s shoulders somewhere along the way. The success of the team is on my shoulders and I am making sure the athletes only need to focus on their performance.”

The sheer volume of work has surprised Horton-Perinchief and it has only increased since she arrived in Paris, but her love of language has proved a huge asset.

“Admittedly, I was unprepared for this level of work but I am fluent in French and that’s been a definite plus,” she said.

“And people have really mobilised to help me do what I have to do for our athletes. I’m not going to lie, there has been a lot.

“My first day here I got three and a half hours sleep and last night I got two. Just getting the athletes here has been an undertaking.

Dara [Alizadeh] arrived the same day that I did so I didn’t have time to set up his room but I knew which one he was going in so I had to register that with the international testing agency, so it’s go, go, go.

“That same day we were prepping for the arrival of the swimmers. All of that has to be arranged and it is a finely-tuned machine but my day is long and jam-packed.

“I drove a van to pick up Tyler Smith and take him to his training camp in Poissy about an hour away. I don’t anticipate much personal time until the triathlon is over but then we head to Marseille for the sailing. Hopefully I can then just go and enjoy Adriana Penruddocke’s successes.”

Horton-Perinchief has been impressed with the set-up of the Olympic Village in Paris and the advancement since she competed two decades ago

“Paris is incredible and the Village is the best I’ve ever seen,” she said.

“Twenty years on I should hope it’s better but this is incredible. We’re actually in a prime location and the athletes overlook the Olympic rings. It’s definitely an upgrade from Athens 20 years ago.”