Having taken months to get to the Rio start line, Australian sprinter Melissa Breen is now working to ensure her Olympic experience lasts a little longer than 11 seconds.
The national women's record holder only secured an Olympic berth at the start of the month, after a series of agonising near misses when she failed to beat the qualifying mark.
But with the pressure of running a qualifier now gone, Breen is shifting focus to improving her starts as she bids to progress beyond a first round heat in Rio.
Part of that preparation will include taking part in at least six meets overseas ahead of the August Games.
"The first 10 metres could be a lot better," Breen told RSN radio on Wednesday.
"I'm quite a strong athlete and I should take advantage of that."
Breen will travel to Europe in the next fortnight to begin her pre-Olympics schedule alongside Australian hurdler Lauren Wells.
The 2012 Olympian says she relishing the chance to have some consistency with her training after a tendon issue almost derailed her season - and her bid to run the qualifying time 11.32 seconds.
"I've had a difficult season to be honest, it's the first time I've had an injury that's stopped me from training and competing," she said.
"I was struggling to believe it (running the qualifying time) was going to happen for me, every other year I managed to run that fast early, and I was really struggling."
Breen concedes she will need to better her personal best of 11.11 seconds if she make any sort of impact in Rio.
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