Even when he was a schoolboy dreaming of making his name as a rugby union international, rising speed king Josh Clarke was a self-confessed student of Australian sprinting.
And when it became clear that his physique wasn't necessarily cut out for top-level rugby, the choice was clear.
"I guess I was a little bit small, a bit of a late developer so around the age when all the rep teams were getting picked, when I was 13 or 14 or 15, I wasn't making teams," said the 20-year-old Clarke.
"I thought 'why waste my time any longer?' I should go and do something that doesn't require the physicality of rugby union.
"I had a bit of sprinting success early and never went back."
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As a youngster, Clarke was inspired by the likes of Josh Ross, Matt Shirvington and Patrick Johnson.
But such has been his improvement in the past 12 months, Clarke could soon be overtaking his idols.
His PB of 10.15 seconds at last weekend's ACT championships moved him to fifth on the Australian alltime list headed by Johnson's sizzling effort of 9.93 set back in 2003.
And in this case, timing is everything.
Last year, Clarke won a first national title in a then PB of 10.19.
But, coming as it did at the end of the domestic season, Clarke reasoned he wasn't going to get much quicker in 2015, so he decided against chasing a spot in the world championships team.
"I thought I would get more benefit out of staying home," he said.
"I'm still young, still developing physically whereas those other guys are pretty developed."
This year he figures to go much quicker - perhaps as soon as the Canberra Track Classic on February 20 - and again at the Rio Olympics, where he is set to be the first Australian man since Ross in 2004 to contest the blue-riband 100m.
"It would be nice to get down to the low 10.0s," he said.
"The weekend was a decent indicator of where my training was at and I think there's a little bit left in there.
"It would be nice to go 10.0 and obviously every sprinters dream is to go sub-10."
Ross set his PB of 10.08 back in 2007.
The following years coincided with something of a lull in Australian men's sprinting.
But with Clarke making his mark and Jack Hale leading a new batch of teenage speedsters, the wheel looks to be turning.
"As a young kid I was always watching Shirvington and Johnson, and then Ross when he was at the peak of his powers," said Sydney University commerce student Clarke.
"Those guys were running 10.0s and sub 10s and I was most impressionable back then and they were making that regular and normal.
"That was always my mindset - Australian sprinters have been doing it before and it was just normal."
AUSTRALIA'S FASTEST MEN
9.93 seconds - Patrick Johnson in 2003
10.03 - Matt Shirvington in 1998
10.08 - Josh Ross in 2007
10.13 - Damien Marsh in 1995
10.15 - Josh Clarke in 2016
10.17 - Rod Mapstone in 1996
10.17 - Adam Miller in 2007
10.17 - Aaron Rouge-Serret in 2010
