At one stage, Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers looked like he wouldn't even qualify for the 100m freestyle final at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games swim trials.
No wonder the teenager rated his maiden 100m national crown on a par with his breakthrough Rio Olympic gold medal after emerging triumphant on Thursday night.
After claiming a maiden 200m crown on Wednesday, Chalmers, 19, backed up to clock an impressive 48.16 seconds to claim the 100m final ahead of young gun Jack Cartwright with defending champion Cam McEvoy third.
"It is very satisfying, honestly it means as much as winning the Olympic gold medal," Chalmers said.
Former dual world champion James Magnussen finished fourth, missing an individual 100m berth for the Gold Coast Games.
But the night was about Chalmers - although the early signs were ominous.
Chalmers received a reality check, just scraping into the 100m final after tying for seventh fastest with Cartwright in the morning heats to earn them the final's last spot.
This year the national trials have scrapped semi-finals, ensuring cut-throat morning heats determine the field for the final.
"I was a bit rattled after the heats. I didn't think I had it in me to do well tonight," Chalmers said.
"And being Olympic champion the pressure is on me.
"I definitely felt the pressure tonight but I embraced it."
Chalmers is back from a 2017 sabbatical after taking time out to adjust to life as a Olympic champion and having an operation to correct a heart condition.
"It's been a rough couple of years since Rio," he said.
"I am just glad I can still prove to myself I can do it, that I am not that one hit wonder."
Meanwhile, Cate Campbell made up for lost time by claiming two national titles in quick succession on Thursday night.
Campbell backed up from an Australian record breaking assault on the 50m butterfly to take out her fourth national 100m freestyle crown, clocking a blistering 52.37 seconds.
It was just 0.31 of a second off her personal best (52.06), which stood as a world record until the 2017 world titles.
Campbell, 25, had earlier set a new 50m butterfly national record in Thursday's heats (25.47 seconds).
She eclipsed Marieke Guehrer's mark set in the 2009 supersuit era by 0.01 of a second.
Other Thursday night winners were Olympic champion Mack Horton (400m freestyle), Ariarne Titmus (400m freestyle), Jake Packard (100m breaststroke), Georgia Bohl (100m breaststroke) and Cameron Jones (50m butterfly).
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