Wells is refusing to utter the dreaded "r-word" of retirement just yet - instead opting for another one - "re-prioritising", but admits her international career is all but over.

The 29-year-old 400 metre hurdles star says she is being realistic in making track and field take a backseat so she can channel her focus into her job as a teacher.

It was perhaps a sign of the times that leading up to her fourth and final Commonwealth Games appearance, Wells spent the first few days of the event locked in her athletes' village room submitting university assignments.

It was fitting given 12 years ago Wells was sitting in her mathematics class at Daramalan College when she got a message to confirm her selection in the 2006 Commonwealth Games team.

"That’s the funny poetry of sport," Wells said.

"My first senior team when I was 17 was actually the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and then to come full circle and to have the opportunity to have two home Games is incredible in itself.

"As potentially first and final competitions for Australia, that’s pretty cool. I always thought that would be a nice way to end the international career so to speak, then you just move onto other things in life.

"I’m sure athletics will always be a part of it."

Wells had known for some time the Gold Coast Games would be her last major international tournament, having already pushed on further than planned in a bid to avenge the heartbreak of her last Olympic Games appearance.

She has spent the past few months finishing her degree, getting a six-week teaching prac done and ticking off her final accreditations. With all that done, she starts teaching at Giralang Primary on Monday.

She is used to competing in front of thousands of fans but even that can't prepare Wells for the job of mentoring a host of primary school kids.

Wells finished college and went straight into completing a psychology degree, and her teaching study has resulted in "a good 10 plus years" of working, training and studying.

That hectic life balance ultimately laid the platform for two Olympic Games appearances, four Commonwealth Games tilts and 11 national 400 metre hurdles titles.

Now Wells will be recognised for her stunning career on the track when she is inducted into the Little Athletics Australia roll of excellence in Canberra in October.

"Athletics is something you don’t get into for the accolades but it is nice recognition of my contribution to the sport," Wells said.

"I would never say never at this stage but the 400m hurdles is a very gruelling event and the training is really intense for it. At this stage I’ll just be working on fitness and keeping the legs ticking over.

"I’m certainly not going to make any grand plans or announcements regarding the season upcoming or even world championships or the Olympics. At this stage it’s just re-prioritising and now the priority is obviously on teaching and athletics will be in the background.

"I’ll be throwing everything into my teaching. Even before this year I anticipated the Commonwealth Games would be my final international representation and I would say that’s still very likely to be the case.

"I’ll still keep training when I can, it’s something I’m not just going to be able to walk away from. I love working with my squad and with Matt [Beckenham], that’s been 16 years of my life. We’ll just have to see how I manage everything.

"I can’t imagine I’ll be competing very much but it’s still something I love and a really big part of my life."