When Australian Institute of Sport rower Sarah Cook was asked what she wanted to do with her life at her year six graduation in 1997, her answer was simple.

''I wanted to be an Olympic athlete,'' Cook said as she remembered her dream as a 12-year-old primary school student. ''I didn't know what in maybe it was swimming but I just knew I wanted to go.''

Ever since she watched the 1992 Barcelona opening ceremony the Olympics has been her goal.

She didn't care what sport, she just wanted to represent Australia on the world's biggest stage.

In nine days that schoolgirl dream will become reality when she arrives in Beijing a week before the opening ceremony for her first Olympics.

It wasn't until she was drafted into the ACT Academy of Sport rowing team eight years ago that she knew how she could make her dream come true.

Cook will compete in the women's pair event in Beijing with rowing partner and best friend Kim Crow.

It was just 18 months ago that Crow and Cook teamed up and set themselves the goal of being Australia's No1 pair in Beijing.

And they hope a gold medal will be the final chapter in the story that started in February 2007.

''The other athletes in the team are always going 'you two are like an old married couple','' Cook said.

''We just do absolutely everything together and Kim is easily my best friend as well as my rowing partner.

''It's so good to have someone like that who you can share that journey with and it makes it a lot more fun.

''Because we were always planning on writing effectively an 18-month story, with a gold medal at the end, we have just been working backwards.''

The 23-year-old took a break from her rigorous training schedule at Penrith to relax in Canberra earlier this week.

With the opening ceremony a little over a fortnight away Cook was excited about making her Olympic debut.

''It's hard to believe how close it is,'' she said. ''People ask me when I'm going to China, then I think about it, and ... we're leaving at the end of next week!''

But the heat, pollution, bright lights and cameras won't distract her from an Olympic dream.

Her eyes are on gold and coach Lyall McCarthy said ever since 2008's first World Cup regatta event in Munich the Cook and Crow pairing had improved beyond belief.

''To be honest we haven't spoken about a gold medal that much,'' McCarthy said. ''We know a little bit about the opposition and their paddling skill, but at the moment the girls just keep on improving.

''They're a perfect match for each other. They're both tall and have long levers and hopefully their close relationship can prove the difference in Beijing.''

And Cook said the race in Munich had given them the belief that a gold medal was a very real prospect.

Halfway through the race Cook and Crow found themselves leading.

But by the end they were battling for a minor placing after tangling with a buoy. Although devastated at the time, Cook said the disappointment had increased her hunger for Olympic success.

''It proved to us that we do have the speed and we can match it with the other teams,'' Cook said.

''We have the confidence that we can definitely go fast enough. But the difference is that we've learned it's not necessarily about the outcome.

''We know a gold medal is a realistic outcome but now it is about ticking the boxes for the process and the result is likely to come.''