Australia's inability to qualify a women's gymnastics team for the Olympics for the first time in almost 30 years has turned close-knit teammates into cut-throat rivals.
Australia, beset by injury to several key performers, fell agonisingly short of sending an artistic team to a seventh straight Games, finishing fifth at Monday's (AEST) test event in Rio when a top-four result was required.
Let down by a poor effort on the beam - their combined score of 52.898 ranking seventh out of the eight competing nations on the apparatus - Australia finished with a total of 218.428, more than two full points behind fourth-placed France (220.869).
While Australia won't have a team at the Olympics for the first time since 1988, there is one individual berth up for grabs - which will be hotly contested at next month's national championships in Melbourne.
Joining the team of Georgia-Rose Brown, Emily Little, Larrissa Miller, Rianna Mizzen, Kiara Munteanu and Emma Nedov that couldn't get the job done in Rio on Monday will be a host of contenders - including former world champion Lauren Mitchell.
Mitchell just missed selection for the Rio test event as she continued her recovery from a knee reconstruction - but will be at full strength as she vies for Australia's lone Olympic berth.
It is at Gymnastics Australia's discretion how they choose to utilise the individual berth - with performances at the national titles to be key.
While veteran Mitchell no longer competes on all apparatus, her routines on beam and floor - on which she won gold at the 2010 world championships - are of world standard.
Should the 24-year-old West Australian prove she is back to her best in Melbourne, it could be enough to get the nod over an all-round contender as Australia chases an elusive first Olympic medal in artistic gymnastics.
The absence of Mitchell and Marry-Anne Monckton, the 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medallist on the beam, were particularly telling in Rio, given Australia's struggles on that apparatus.
"They performed very well under extreme pressure and showed great commitment and determination to overcome what was a difficult lead up to the event," said Gymnastics Australia CEO Mark Rendell, with Monckton withdrawing from the team just before they left for Rio after rupturing her ACL.
"... there are a number of reasons why we fell short at the Rio test event including the fact that we could not select our strongest line-up."
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