Percy is Glasgow-born but grew up on the Isle of Wight. He admits that, at 6ft 2in, he is “quite short in the world of discus”.
“The other guys that throw are 6ft 7in, 6ft 9in – one of the best guys in the world is 6ft 11in,” he says. “It is a different ballpark.
“It is crazy to think, ‘oh well, could someone of my size actually do that?’ And the proof is in the pudding – it has happened. So, I feel I do deserve and belong to be out with some of those big boys and throw.”
Indeed, Percy is a five-time British champion, has thrown at world and European championships – and competed for Scotland at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in his home city before finishing fifth eight years later in Birmingham.
However, despite exceeding the 67.20m Olympic standard at the weekend, he is still not guaranteed a place on the flight to Paris.
“The qualification distance is just the foot through the door,” Percy points out. “Now we still have to show form throughout the year, we still have to have good performances and then the British Championships at the end of June – and in that we have to come in the top two.
“It is not to diminish the World Champs, the Commonwealth Games, the European Championships or anything like that, but the goal for any person in athletics is the Olympic Games. That is the epitome of sport at the highest level, so if I had the opportunity to go out there and compete then that is the lifetime goal.”
Percy puts his success down to the late Ray Scovell, who encouraged youngsters at his local club on the Isle of Wight to try the full range of athletics before settling on a particular discipline.
“I was this short little skinny guy who had no right to go and do throwing but went and picked up a javelin and launched it like 30 metres on the first day and he was like, ‘you are not hurdling or long jumping any more – you are coming to do the throws’,” he recalls.
“And then hurting my elbow and him saying, ‘do you want to throw some discus and hammer?’ And me just going, ‘sure, I will give it a go’ and from there finding the love from it. It has been a long journey.”