The relief on James Magnussen's face said it all to Australian swimming coach Jacco Verhaeren.
Sure, Magnussen was almost three seconds outside his personal best 100m freestyle time.
But Verhaeren reckoned Magnussen's expression after finally breaking the 49 second barrier in his 4x100m freestyle relay final effort at last month's NSW titles showed the dual world champion was on track for Rio.
Verhaeren admitted critics would be forgiven for thinking the jury was out on what Magnussen would produce at this week's Rio Olympic trials starting in Adelaide on Thursday.
Upon his return from a shoulder reconstruction Magnussen appears on paper in real danger of missing out on an individual Rio Olympic 100m freestyle berth in a field boasting world No.1-ranked Cameron McEvoy and in-form young gun Kyle Chalmers.
Magnussen is yet to show if he has recaptured his form since major shoulder surgery robbed him of a chance to have a crack at a record third straight 100m freestyle title at last year's world titles in Russia.
However, Verhaeren admitted he had few concerns after watching Magnussen's reaction to overcoming the mental hurdle of posting a season best 48.85 seconds as the lead swimmer in the 4x100m freestyle club relay for his club Ravenswood at the NSW titles.
It may be an eternity away from his world beating PB 47.10 but Verhaeren reckoned Magnussen was on the right track after witnessing his reaction to finally eclipsing the 49 second mark following months of trying.
"I saw his relief and rightfully so," Verhaeren said.
"It showed that he is back on track.
"If you compare where he was three or four months before than he has made a massive improvement."
Australia's McEvoy - a 2015 world titles silver medallist - is the red hot Rio favourite with a world-leading time of 47.56 seconds.
But Verhaeren was confident that London silver medallist Magnussen, who swam almost half a second faster four years ago, is primed to rediscover his best form at the Adelaide trials after his injury woes.
"Tracking his whole trajectory to where he is now he would be very happy," Verhaeren said of Magnussen.
"We all know what sort of swimmer he is.
"He is on track.
"But on track for what?"
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