Tasmanian sprinter Jack Hale is well aware that his Olympic window may not be open much longer.
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Having burst onto the scene a decade ago as "Australia's fastest schoolboy", Hale missed out in Tokyo by three spots and sees this year's Games in Paris as perhaps his last serious chance.
"The 2016 Games were not viable as I was only 18 and to miss in 2021 was rough because I felt I could have gone and run well," he said.
"But this one is prime for me. I'll be 26 - the right age. Certainly better than I will be in four years' time."
However, despite a 100 metres personal best of 10.12 seconds, an Oceania title and back-to-back Commonwealth Games appearances, the Hobart runner faces stiff competition from a bumper crop of fellow Aussies and already believes his best chance of making the team is in the 4x100m relay rather than the individual event.
Fellow Tasmanian Jacob Despard plus Rohan Browning, Josh Azzopardi, Jake Doran, Sebastian Saltana, Calab Law and Chris Ius are also targeting the required top-three placing at upcoming national championships in Adelaide beginning on Thursday.
"It's a very competitive group - the standard has gone through the roof to make the team and I've definitely got a lot of work to do," Hale said.
"I'm definitely closer in a relay capacity but if you are running quick enough to make the relay teams, you are still a very good chance to make the Olympics as an individual.
"It's everything to me. It's been a dream since I was 10 and initially started to run fast."
Since announcing himself on the national stage with a 10.13-second 100m to win the 2014 Australian all-schools carnival, the former St Virgil's athlete moved to Melbourne and was ranked as high as 35th in the world for athletics' blue riband event.
In 2022 he returned to Hobart where he trains with Northern Suburbs AC under Wayne and Joel Mason and works in admin for Little Athletics Tasmania.
Although he set a season-best time of 10.35 in Canberra in January, Hale said his best hope of a ticket to Paris is in the sprint relay with Australia needing to finish among the top 14 nations at the world champs in the Bahamas (May 4-5) to secure a spot.
"They will probably take five or six of us," he said. "Jacob is probably more of a stronger chance in the relay team on current form. He's been almost leading that team for more than year. He's been in every race since the Commonwealth Games as the second runner. He's really locked down that leg.
"I've run third (leg) but I'm not really in a position where I can pick and choose."
In addition to Hale and Despard, Stewart McSweyn is the other Tasmanian with a realistic chance to make Australia's track and field team for Paris. The King Islander was seventh in the 1500m final in Tokyo in a time of 3:31.91.
Shot putter Todd Hodgetts and runners Deon Kenzie and Alexander McKillop are the Tasmanians still on the Paralympic radar.
Rob Shaw
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
