A late event change has paid off big-time for Ryan Gregson, who booked his spot in the Australian athletics team for the Rio Olympics with a flying 1500m victory in the Netherlands.
Gregson had intended to contest the 800m in Nijmegen on Wednesday night (Thursday morning AEST), but instead stepped up to his favoured event at the behest of coach Nic Bideau and was rewarded with the win in a time of three minutes 35.78 seconds.
Countryman and training partner Luke Mathews was second in 3:35.99 - also under the Olympic qualifying standard.
As the reigning national champion, Gregson is now guaranteed a spot in the 1500m at the Rio Games.
"The conditions were really good so we thought it would be a good chance to run fast," said the 26-year-old.
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"Nic told me the morning of the event that I should switch events and it paid off.
"It's a nice feeling to be finally qualified alongside so many of my Melbourne Track Club teammates, but now it's all about improving and getting to that final in Rio."
Those clubmates include rising star Mathews, who is already locked in for the 800m in Rio and could now be given the option to double up on his Olympic debut.
Halfway around the world in Beijing, Jenny Blundell became the fourth Australian woman to better the Olympic 1500m mark by clocking a personal best of 4:04.62.
Melissa Duncan has already been selected in the women's 1500m for Rio, with Blundell, Linden Hall and Zoe Buckman having now also bettered the qualifying mark.
Further complicating matters, 2016 national champion Heidi See will claim one of the two remaining vacancies if she runs under 4:07 before the cut-off mark in early July.
"It still hasn't sunk in," said the 22-year-old Blundell.
"I knew I had it in me to run that fast, I just had to run hard from the start.
"It didn't surprise me, but it is exciting."
In other Australian action at the IAAF World Challenge meet in Beijing, Kathryn Mitchell won the women's javelin with 64.37m, while Selma Kajan and Genevieve LaCaze were second and third in the women's 800m.
