Despite being set to take over the world No.1 mixed doubles curling ranking, Australian duo Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt still face a major challenge to book at spot at their second Winter Olympics.
The pair won an historic bronze medal at this year's world championships in Canada in May and have since hit a golden patch, topping the podium in tournaments in Bern and Gstaad, where they collected an iconic goat-shaped trophy.
The recent run of results will see them leap-frog Estonia in the world rankings next week into the top spot.
But Queenslander Gill and Victorian Hewitt are no certainties to line up at the Milan-Cortina Games in February after missing direct qualification by a single point.
An uncharacteristically poor 15th-place finish at the 2024 world titles combined with this year's third, saw them finish eighth overall, with only the top seven plus hosts Italy guaranteed an Olympic spot.
With 27 points, the Canada-based Aussie pair were just one point behind Team USA.
"We were eighth so one spot away, one point away," 30-year-old Hewitt told AAP.
"Had the results gone other ways, like one more win would have 100 per cent got us through, or if another team had lost ... it was probably largely the year before, we just didn't get a good enough result.
"Third at the world championships, you'd think would be enough, but it just wasn't quite enough in this case, yet."
Instead the star duo must contest the Olympic qualification tournament in Kelowna, Canada, in December and finish top two from 16 countries entered.
But having managed that in the previous Games cycle to earn a debut at the Beijing Olympics in 2022, Gill said they felt confident of repeating the feat.
Now 26, Gill said they had evolved as a team since those Games.
"I guess it's a different kind of pressure, as obviously we had a really great season last season, and this season has started off very well for us too," she said.
"It felt like last time everything was like zero to 100 for us and happened so quickly but this time we've had a lot of time to plan and prepare, and our support group has grown, and we've got a great team behind us.
"It feels like it's definitely achievable, and perhaps maybe more of an expectation from us going into this event that we can get that last two spots."
At the Beijing Games the Aussies placed 10th, finishing strongly to beat defending Olympic champions Canada.
But they endured a chaotic time with Gill kept in isolation away from all competitors, including Hewitt, apart from when she was on the ice.
She had contracted COVID-19 months earlier but daily testing wavered between positive and negative CT levels and the team were told to leave the Games before a late reprieve allowed them to complete the final two competition rounds.
Gill hoped to get another chance for a full Olympic experience in Cortina, where the curling venue is located.
"It was definitely very crazy, very stressful," she said of the China event.
"Hopefully, we'll never experience anything like that again, just with the amount of effort that went into having to stay safe ... so much energy went on other things, and not necessarily on performance.
""Hopefully this time I'm able to experience more of the village."
They will compete for a third time in Switzerland this week before a short visit home in Australia and then head to Canada with their Olympic dream on the line.
