Eliza Ault-Connell wasn't even dreaming of another comeback when she offered to support fellow Paralympian Vanessa Low in training for a shot at Commonwealth Games selection.
Back in her race chair, Ault-Connell was inspired and soon realised qualifying herself for a fourth Games appearance in Glasgow was within reach.
Did she surprise herself?
"Oh shit yeah," the 44-year-old told AAP.
"In reality, on paper, I shouldn't have been able to that, right? That's impossible.
"But the awesome thing about having 25 years of experience in the chair is it is like riding a bike. You don't forget what you're doing."
Ault-Connell, who almost died from meningococcal disease and had both legs amputated as a teenager, is no stranger to a comeback.
A bronze medallist at the 2002 Games in Manchester (800m wheelchair), she won silver four years later in Melbourne (800m T54) before putting racing on hold for a decade while raising three children.
Her first return to racing brought about another silver medal in the marathon T54 at the 2018 Games on the Gold Coast.
Now she is eager to complete her collection with gold in either the 400m T54 or 1500m T54 in Glasgow, but admits she faces a tough ask to topple Scotland's local fancy Melanie Woods on both stages.
"I'd like to be on the podium, to be perfectly honest, and I reckon I can," Ault-Connell said.
"Things have been going pretty well in training and on a good day anything is actually possible.
"I've been pretty fortunate in Comm Games and I'd love to complete the set (of medals). That would be bloody great to come back and go and get that gold.
"But realistically we will just race as hard as we can and as smart as we can on the day, and we'll see what happens."
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Ault-Connell wanted to help close friend Low qualify for the Games, offering guidance as the German-born long jumper switched her focus to the race chair.
An injury setback and challenges with her classification ultimately curtailed Low's Games bid, but a silver lining was their training program reigniting the fire in Ault-Connell.
"We're similar in impairment so I knew that I had a lot to be able to give to her to accelerate her journey," Ault-Connell said of three-time Paralympic Games gold medallist Low.
"She's just a bloody talented sportsperson. Whatever she sets her mind to she can pretty much do.
"I thoroughly enjoyed the first couple of months of training that we had ... and realised I was actually close to being able to qualify.
"So basically (the comeback) was because of Vanessa and just loving the training with her, and training with someone that's like-minded who loves what they do."
Fast-forward to Glasgow, and Ault-Connell is the oldest competitor on Australia's Games athletics squad.
She is also the only athlete who competed on home soil in Melbourne 16 years ago, and jokes about half the team not even being born when she made her Games debut in Manchester.
"That's pretty humbling ... some of them are younger than my kids," Ault-Connell said.
"(The advice I give them) is you've got to be able to absolutely enjoy the experience but also make the most of it."
