Teenager Jessica Thornton is set to be the youngest member of the Australian track and field team at the Rio Olympics after being rewarded for a brave front-running display in the 400m at the national championships.
Thornton was eventually overtaken by winner Morgan Mitchell midway down the final straight on Saturday night, but her second-placed finish in a huge personal best of 52.33 seconds will earn her an Olympic spot in the 4x400m relay.
The relay squads won't be confirmed until July 12, although such is Thornton's rapid rate of improvement that she may well have also bettered the individual qualifying mark of 52.20 by then.
It shapes as a very busy year for the university student from Sydney, who will be among the gold-medal favourites in the 400m at the world junior championships in Poland in July.
She would then head straight into camp in Florida with the Australian Olympic team.
Thornton's previous PB of 52.50 was set when winning gold at the 2014 Youth Olympics in China.
She then spent 12 months on the sidelines with a foot stress fracture.
Mitchell had to dig deep in Saturday's final to claim victory in 51.84 after Thornton had powered to the front from the starter's gun.
"I didn't think it was that fast but that last bend I knew Morgan was there and I just thought `keep pushing' and then I saw (third-placed Anneliese Rubie) on my left side and I thought 'keep going'," said Thornton.
"It's unbelievable that I'm going to the Olympics.
"I was in such shock when I crossed that line and now I just have to keep going."
The women's 4x400m will almost certainly be the only relay Australia will contest at the Rio Games, with Mitchell confident that a team also including Thornton, Rubie and Caitlin Sargent would be good enough to make it through to the final.
"We all love each other, we all get along and I reckon that's just as important as running fast - having a good relationship," said Mitchell, who is unbeaten in a dozen 400m races throughout the Australian season.
"We're hoping that we can do something special over there."
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