As middle-distance athlete Keely Small races towards her first Olympic Games, she's already thinking about her last.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Canberran woke the news on Thursday morning that Brisbane had all but secured the 2032 Games, with the International Olympic Committee confirming it would enter into exclusive talks with officials of the "very advanced" bid.
It's lit the flame for young athletes across Australia to represent the nation at a home Olympics for the first time since Sydney 2000 - an event that occurred before Small was born.
She'll be 31 by the time the 2032 Games comes around, in what is likely to be the tail end of her athletics career.
So if Brisbane secures the hosting rights, 19-year-old Small said the 2032 Games could double as an ideal swansong.
"It was a nice thing to wake up to, I think I'll be towards the end of my career when it comes along. It's definitely something to focus on, hopefully that will be my last Olympics and I can go out on home turf," Small said.
"It's exciting for Australia. High-performance meets in Australia, nothing compares to it.
"I've had a few trips overseas and it's just done so well here. Australia does it so well, so it'll be amazing."
Small won gold at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires in 2018 and was picked in the Australian team to compete at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in the same year.
She is hoping to make her senior Olympics debut in Tokyo, but is yet to run a qualifying time in either the 800-metres and 1500-metres events.
Small finished fourth in the 800-metres at the Summer Super Series opener in Canberra on Thursday night, clocking a time of 2:02.24.
Catriona Bisset, who won the race, is the only Australian to have secured qualification so far - with Small confident she can close down on 1.59.50 benchmark soon.
"I feel good, it's just ticking the boxes this early in the season," Small said.
"I didn't feel brilliant in that race, but to still run 2.02 while not feeling brilliant I'm still happy with obviously. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season."
Small will return for the Canberra Track Classic in a fortnight, but before then she'll look to pursue Brittany Kaan's 1000-metres record of 2:37.80.
Some of the nation's best middle-distanced athletes will contest the Box Hill Burn in Melbourne on Tuesday, in what doubles as a fundraiser for Lifeline.
The initiative, led by Lifeline custodian Bisset, aims to raise $30,000 to match the rate that the mental service receives a call from someone in need - every 30 seconds.