The realist in Kyle Chalmers knows there's a chance he might not compete at the Los Angeles Olympics.
Now a father, Australian swimming heavyweight Chalmers is managing his expectations for the tail end of his career amid a "desperate" desire to continue chasing Olympic glory.
Chalmers will be 30 in 2028 and perhaps got a glimpse of the future when at the Commonwealth Games he suffered his first defeat to a compatriot at a major international meet.
He was dethroned as 100m freestyle king by 21-year-old Flynn Southam, with Chalmers' bid for a record-breaking 10th Commonwealth gold ending in third behind Welshman Matt Richards.
Southam blitzed the field, touching in 7.13 seconds to Chalmers' 47.74.
"I truly believed that I was going to win," Chalmers said.
"Then as the race sort of unfolded, I felt Flynn pushing forward and I knew that it was probably out of my reach.
"But I'm so happy for him … like, I've been able to hold him off for quite a few years now, but he's 21 years old, he's in the peak of his career.
"That's when I was swimming my personal best time, so I know that I'm getting older."
For the first time, Chalmers was competing at the Games as a dad, well aware they could be his last.
He was cheered on to his third medal in Glasgow by his 11-month-old daughter Astrid and wife, Norwegian swimmer, Ingeborg Loyning.
"I would love to get to that point (in 2028), but I'm also a realist and know that what is important to me now is my wife and daughter," Chalmers said.
"And I really feel that I've won in life by having them, that if I don't get to that point, I'm not going to be disappointed.
"I have to be a realist at this point in my career, too. I'm not an 18-year-old kid that's coming on, that's got no other things going on in life.
"I don't wanna be a selfish parent. I want to be there for her and work out what is the best possible thing. And I don't mean that in any other way. I desperately wanna be in LA, but you have to work that out being a parent."
Not that Chalmers is giving up entirely on the prospect of upstaging the Americans in the 4x100m freestyle relay with Southam in 2028.
"That would be my ultimate dream," Chalmers said.
