In a perfect world, Stewart McSweyn would be right now coming down off the high of his maiden Olympics appearance rather than be in preparation mode.
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But in a world that is very much not perfect at present, the unofficial "mayor" of King Island is seeing the positives of that changed landscape having had his Olympics debut officially confirmed on Thursday.
The 25-year-old distance runner will race in the 5000m and 10,000m distances which he holds the national title crowns in, which will be the same double act he had at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, having also run a qualifying time for the 1500m.
RELATED: McSweyn's Olympic ticket confirmed
But rather than dwell on having to wait until 2021 after the Tokyo Games were pushed back after the outbreak of COVID-19, McSweyn, who is presently racing in Europe in the Diamond League, believed the extra time would be beneficial.
That time, he said, would help him be there at the finals and "get a bit stronger" and "work on race tactics".
"I am lucky that I am over in Europe racing at the moment so I am still getting that high quality competition, but I am viewing that in 11 months that I can get 10 per cent better in that time before next year,'' McSweyn said.
"I am kind of working on the little things to get better as being a distance runner you are probably not at your peak until your mid to late 20s so I am thinking I can get that 10 per cent better and get a better result than I would of it was going to go ahead in 2020."
To finally have his spot for Tokyo confirmed was a "pretty amazing experience".
"When I grew up as a kid doing athletics you get to watch the Olympics and it is kind of the pinnacle of the sport and you are looking at the athletes in it and you're like 'these guys are crazy good and I don't know if I will ever get to that level'," he said.
"So to be announced is something that is pretty special and I obviously never thought I would get to this level, but to finally be named on this team is a huge moment for me and something I definitely won't forget for the rest of my life."
It comes after being in Victoria during the COVID-19 outbreak, with the biggest lesson the Nic Bideau-trained distance runner will take from that time being the need to be adaptable both mentally and physically to any situation.
"I think everyone is going to have to deal with the same things and every other athlete you are going to have to compete against has to wait another year as well, so I'm viewing it as I have another year to get stronger and better and focusing more from the positives that come from it then worrying too much about the negatives and gearing up for 2021 now rather then where we would be in the Olympics right now,'' he said.
McSweyn set a season's best time of 13:13.22 in finishing sixth in the 5000m at the Monaco Diamond League on Saturday in a race where when Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei claimed a new world record and said it "felt good to be back racing as we had so many months of training without any real race focus".
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The Stockholm Diamond League on the weekend is next on his agenda.
"There was definitely a few nerves going in as you are kind of unsure what shape you are in until you actually get that race result on the board and once I was out there I was loving it and it is really nice to be back in that racing groove we haven't had for a fair few months,'' he said.
McSweyn is the third Tasmanian to have their place on the Australian Olympic team , which now stands at 78, confirmed, along with Dan Watkins [canoe slalom] and Georgia Baker [track cycling], with West Pine cyclist Amy Cure also selected before retiring.
Chef de Mission, and fellow Tasmanian, Ian Chesterman said he "hoped there will hopefully be many more selections to follow".
The Tokyo Olympics is scheduled to run from July 23 to August 8.
Alex Fair
Deputy Editor of The Advocate on the North-West Coast of Tasmania.
Deputy Editor of The Advocate on the North-West Coast of Tasmania.
