Dual-gold medallist Vanessa Low almost never reached the podium in Tokyo, after stepping away from athletics in 2012 before staging her comeback, and she says it came down to belief.
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The 31-year-old won gold in Tokyo on Thursday in rainy conditions, after breaking her own world record three times in the T63 long jump to set a new WR of 5.28m - describing it as an "added bonus" to her gold.
However she almost did not become a Paralympic medallist, after she gave up athletics following the London Games. It was not until she visited her fellow German athlete Katrin Green and her husband athlete Roderick Green in the US, she got back into it, after he promised he could coach her to gold.
It paid off, as she went on to win gold in Rio for Germany, and gold again in Tokyo in the green and gold under her new coach.
"It shows how important a support system is for us, we all need people around us to believe in ourselves and I think for me it was all I ever needed to believe in myself," she said.
"We need to be going into something because we love doing it and we believe that we can achieve those things and Rodo really taught me that but now my new support system ... is giving me that in Australia. It's not just training, it's the people that you surround yourself with that make those things happen."
The Canberran's family and friends back in Germany, alongside her husband and fellow Paralympian Scott Reardon, were cheering her on as she jumped to first.
Although she is at the top of her craft, she wanted to remind people they were not defined by their disabilities or their sporting ability.
"Paralympic sport is a little bit of a reminder that we sometimes need to focus more on what we have, rather than what we are lacking, or we feel like we are lacking. I really hope that people understand that you don't have to achieve something amazing in order to be perfect the way that you are," she said.
"I really love to encourage people to understand that we aren't our disabilities, but what really defines us is the choices we make, the challenges we take, the way that we put ourselves out there and bring whatever abilities that we have individually to the table. Society gets better because of how different we are."
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The long jumper is not ruling anything out moving forward, with the World Championships back in Japan next year on her agenda, alongside possibly another go in Paris 2024, but first it's pyjama time.
"I'll probably spend the first week or so in pjs, there's so much sleep to be caught up on and I think I really just need to sort out all my emotions and feelings and process all this," she said.
"We always love your support and we don't just happen every four years, we are on all the time so, once we're back, come out to the Canberra track ... have a conversation, reach out and witness this sport. I mean, it's amazing."