Marianna Tolo feels she's in the shape of her life as she fights for a spot in the Australian women's Olympic basketball team.
The centre made a successful return from injury earlier this month in the Opals' warm-up tour of Europe, playing 36 minutes across three games.
Tolo tore her anterior cruciate ligament last August while playing for the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA, and has been racing the clock to be fit for Rio.
"It felt awesome to be back out there, it was just like I never left," she told AAP at the Opals' penultimate camp in Canberra on Friday.
"I wasn't really thinking about my knee at all, it was mostly about where I was supposed to be on court."
Tolo thought her Olympic dream was over when she injured her ACL, but it proved a blessing in disguise.
The 26-year-old has spent the past 10 months in intense rehabilitation and training at the Australian Institute of Sport's Centre of Excellence, lifting her game and fitness.
"My shooting's probably better than it was before, my skills and ball handling have improved too," she said.
"I'm definitely the leanest I've ever been, the strongest I've ever been, the most muscle mass I've ever had.
"That has been really exciting to be able to do that and have that time off the basketball court. It's taken me to another level."
Tolo missed the final cut for the 2012 London Games but bounced back two years later, playing a crucial role in the Opals' bronze medal-winning campaign at the world championships in Turkey.
She was elevated from back-up centre to start after superstar Liz Cambage ruptured an achilles tendon in a practice game just 10 days out.
But with Cambage back in the fold, Tolo is in a battle for a starting spot.
While knowing she doesn't have the global reputation that Cambage has, she is intent on making a mark.
"She's so good that it's a challenge to get in front of her, but it's one I choose to accept," she said.
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