Three-time Paralympian Darren Gardiner has been rewarded for staving off his retirement plans, with the powerlifter becoming one of the first athletes to make the Australian team for London.
Along with fellow powerlifter Abebe Fekadu, the pair are the first to have officially booked their tickets to the London Paralympic Games, which start on August 29.
Gardiner, who lost his lower left leg to cancer when he was 24, first competed at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, but came home with a silver medal at the Athens Games four years later and again in Beijing in 2008.
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The plan is to add to the collection in London, which the 42-year-old says will be his fourth and last Paralympics.
"I was going to retire after the Beijing Games, but at the time I had a chat with my coach Ray Epstein and he thought I had another four years in me," Gardiner said.
"So I decided to give London a go.
"Anytime you have the chance to represent your country on an international platform is an honour."
The self-confessed seasoned campaigner said there was just a "calm excitement" at having made the team.
He's currently ranked fifth in the world in the 100kg-plus powerlifting category with a personal best lift of 235kg, but intends to clear 240kg by the time London rolls around.
Australia has a solid record in the powerlifting - in which athletes compete in just the one lift, the bench press - having won six medals all up since the sport was introduced in 1988, including five silvers and one bronze.
The London Games will be Fekadu's second Paralympics after finishing 10th in Beijing against a tough field in the under 56kg division.
He'll be aiming for a new personal best at 163kg, but said just being picked on the Australian team is enough of a dream come true.
Fekadu became an Australian citizen in 2007, ending a nine-year battle for a visa after fleeing his homeland of Ethiopia.
It was there he broke his back in a car accident after being chased by local police for attending a pro-democracy rally.
"I feel like a very lucky person to wear the green and gold again," the 41-year-old said.
"It means a lot for me."
Fekadu found powerlifting while visiting a centre for asylum seekers in Australia and has been crowned national champion four times since.
