Canberra hurdler Lauren Wells is used to walking away from the Australian athletics championships with a gold medal around her neck.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That's not to say she doesn't love the bronze one she picked up at Carrara Stadium on Sunday.
Wells clinched an automatic Commonwealth Games nomination with an unprecedented 11th 400 metre hurdles national championship, clocking 56.06 to secure the gold ahead of Victoria's Daniela Roman (56.59) and NSW product Carli Smith (56.87).
But Wells had less than 80 minutes to enjoy it before she competed in the open long jump final little over an hour later.
Wells finished third with a 6.49 metre jump behind Queenslander Naa Anang (6.66 with 1.3 tail wind) and Victorian Brooke Stratton, who posted 6.66 with a 1.7 tail wind to clinch the national title.
If all goes to plan Wells will do the same thing at the Commonwealth Games if she is selected for long jump, but while she is "in with a shot", it looks unlikely.
The 400m hurdles and long jump are scheduled on the same night - and while she could pull it off at nationals, the difference is the time between events.
On Sunday she had 80 minutes. In April, she would have just five.
"That's probably asking just a little bit much, but we'll see what happens with the nomination process and we'll take it from there," Wells laughed.
"I was unsure of how I would feel body wise, I've never really backed up after running such a tough race, especially in that heat, and then trying to run down a runway and jump off a wooden board.
"It was a good challenge but my body felt great, I was obviously really relieved after the hurdles, I knew I could just go into the long jump and have fun.
"Every time I stepped on the run way I got the crowd involved and I just really wanted to put some great performances out there.
"I was only three centimetres off my PB, so to walk away with a bronze medal and against the calibre of athletes in that competition, I'm really thankful."
The 29-year-old is still weighing up her long-term future in athletics after her Commonwealth Games campaign after winning her sixth national title in a row and her 11th since she claimed gold in 2005.
The next best haul belongs to Debbie Flintoff-King, who won six national titles between 1983 and 1991.
It's fair to say Wells is always the resounding favourite at the national championships, but that counts for little "when you've got 400 metres to cover and you've got 10 hurdles to go over, and you're in really oppressive heat".
She believes everything is coming together in her pursuit of a podium finish, having finished one spot outside a medal three times in three Commonwealth Games appearances.
Wells says a home Commonwealth Games would be the perfect way to sign off, given her career took off at the same event in Melbourne 12 years ago.
But that doesn't mean she's definitely going to hang up the spikes.
"We're just going to focus on Commonwealth Games. That's where our focus is at the moment, that's where my focus has been all season and it has been working," Wells said.
"I'm not thinking beyond that at this point, I just want to enjoy this next seven or eight weeks and represent my country with pride when we do get to step out on the track in front of a home crowd, put down some good performances and be really proud of what I've done."
Athletics Australia selectors will pick a team of 111 athletes for the Commonwealth Games, with automatic nominations announced on Sunday and further nominations revealed on Monday.
Meanwhile, Canberra's world record holder Jayden Sawyer clinched the men's ambulant javelin final to claim the national title.
