One got there earlier than expected and the other endured a case of third time lucky but Sam Tait and Mark Soyer are set to share a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The Australian seated alpine skiers will make their Winter Paralympic debuts in PyeongChang.
After missing selection for the 2010 and 2014 Games, the 39-year-old Soyer faced more disappointment when he dislocated his shoulder and broke 12 ribs and his collarbone in a crash at the world championships early last year.
He spent five months recovering, but displayed the perseverance which helped him twice overcome leukaemia, before a motorcycle accident in 2004 resulted in his paraplegia, to make it to these Games.
"When it's you there's something wrong with, it's easy. I think it's harder for people around you. It affects them more," Soyer said.
"There's been a lot of ups and downs. You can be on top of the world, then two seconds later you crash and it can be season-ending.
"We've definitely had a few of those but you climb back on and you do it again.
"I love the sport so you've got to keep doing it. There's nothing better than the feeling of pushing out in the start - the nerves, the excitement."
Tait's journey to the Paralympics has been more linear after becoming a paraplegic in a motorcycle accident five years ago.
The 26-year-old set his sights on Beijing 2022 before doing enough this season to qualify for PyeongChang in just his second year of competing.
"In hospital I saw alpine skiing videos and within four months of my accident I was on the snow in a sit-ski," Tait said.
"It became my legs to me and it feels incredible.
"Last year when I started racing, things progressed very fast.
"My coach said, 'you know, you can actually qualify for these Games'. I just kept doing what I was doing and the next minute, I'm here."
Tait and Soyer are aiming to compete in all five para-alpine skiing events, beginning on Saturday with the downhill.
It's a discipline in which they're both world-ranked in the 20s and neither are willing to make any bold statements about their prospects.
"I find if you put a number on things you tend to go a little too hard, beyond what your intentions are," Soyer said.
"It doesn't end well."
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