Olympic champion Kylie Palmer has gone from despair to delight in the space of a fortnight and can now set her sights on the 2016 Rio Games after only receiving a reprimand from swimming's world governing body for a doping test saga which had dragged on for more than two years.
Palmer tested positive to low levels of a banned masking agent in 2013, but she was not notified of the failed test until earlier this year.
Despite denying taking any performance-enhancing drugs, the 25-year-old Palmer voluntarily accepted a provisional suspension - ruling her out of July's world championships in Russia - while FINA investigated the matter.
FINA confirmed overnight that Palmer would only be issued with a reprimand and a warning, although that decision could still be the subject of an appeal.
"I sincerely hope that this process is now over," Palmer said in a statement.
"It has been a distressing few months since I was first notified of the positive test back in April 2015.
"Since that time I made the decision to accept a provisional suspension and missed the FINA world championships in Kazan.
"I cannot get back that opportunity to represent my country internationally but I am now looking to the future."
Palmer said she had no idea how the prohibited substance came to be in her system, adding that any investigations were made near impossible as she had only been made aware of the positive test 21 months after it occurred.
Palmer - a member of the Australian gold-medal winning 4x200m freestyle relay team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics - was understood to have been at a low ebb as recently as two weeks ago and was very close to giving the sport away.
But her coach Chris Mooney encouraged her to stay strong, a stance vindicated by FINA's decision not to impose a ban.
"I am very pleased that the decision of the panel means that I can return to competitive swimming immediately," said Palmer.
"My number one goal is to represent Australia at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and I cannot wait to get back on track to achieving that dream."
The FINA doping tribunal has yet to publish the reasons for its decision.
Swimming Australia said it fully supported the process and accepted the tribunal's findings.
"Swimming Australia's concern throughout the process was the two-year delay in informing the athlete of the positive test that occurred in 2013 and the issues that this created for Kylie Palmer throughout the process," it said in a statement.
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