Canberra goalkeeper Andrew Charter will use the mental demons of his 2012 Olympic Games campaign to fuel his chase for a gold medal in Rio after getting the selection call he's been waiting four years for.
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Charter and Goulburn striker Glenn Turner were named in the Kookaburras' 16-man Olympic squad on Wednesday.
For Charter, it ends four years of wondering "what if" after being the first reserve for the London Olympics and being forced to stay in different accommodation to his teammates because he wasn't officially an Olympian.
The 29-year-old spent his weekend fixing doors at his home and playing video games in an attempt to distract himself from the stomach-churning nerves of Olympic selection.
"I thought I was checking my phone every 15 minutes and that I was pretty calm about it ... turns out I was checking it every two minutes," Charter said from Perth after the announcement.
"It's pretty exciting but relief as well. It's pretty polarising to the way I was feeling four years ago. In 2012 I was pretty upset and disappointed.
"This year it's relief and joy that the last five years of my career have come to this and hopefully we can put a good performance on."
Charter admitted he weighed up his career options after watching the 2012 Olympics from the stands and whether to walk away to focus on a career as an engineer.
But the Canberra Lakers mainstay decided to approach his career in two year blocks and he hasn't looked back since stamping himself as Australia's No.1 goalkeeper.
"The coaches have had faith and it's showed with me making the sacrifices in my life to compete in the flagship event for our sport.
"In 2012 I learnt how to deal with disappointment, but what will help me this year is knowing how the village and the Olympics works. I've seen it all before from a different place.
"I had a bit of a soul-searching period after that experience four years ago to reassess where I was. It got to a point where it made me reflect, but this is what I want to be doing.
"My intention is to keep doing this for as long as I can ... I'm in a good place now. It's all part of the journey and makes it a bit more rewarding. Nothing has been gifted."
Turner considered walking away from hockey after injuries and missing selection at tournaments led to him questioning his future in the international game.
The 32-year-old was ill on Wednesday and missed the team announcement, but is determined to chase a gold medal opportunity.
Turner was part of the team that won a bronze medal in 2012 Games. The campaign in Rio will be his last Olympics but he is undecided on his international future beyond the tournament.
"There have been plenty of times I thought about hanging up the boots or injury recovery might be too much, but you keep fighting on," Turner said.
"I was always confident if I could get my body right and stay on the field. This will be my last Olympics for sure, so you want to do everything you can to make it memorable."
World No.1-ranked Australia have named 10 players with Olympic experience in their squad for August's Games, with Mark Knowles and Jamie Dwyer the only remaining members from the team that won gold in Athens in 2004.
The women's squad will be named on Monday, with Canberra's Anna Flanagan and Edwina Bone in contention as well as Crookwell's Emily Smith.
Kookaburras squad: Daniel Beale, Andrew Charter, Chris Ciriello, Matt Dawson, Tim Deavin, Jamie Dwyer, Matt Gohdes, Blake Govers, Fergus Kavanagh, Mark Knowles (c), Eddie Ockenden, Simon Orchard, Matthew Swann, Glenn Turner, Jake Whetton, Tristan White.
