Last year Brendan Kerry was considering quitting skating altogether. Today he launched himself into the next round of figure skating - and into the historic books - after a blistering short program that was near-perfect.
The 27-year-old joins rare company, confirming his place as a three-time Olympian - a particularly challenging feat in Figure Skating.
"What kept me going was that I didn't really know what I wanted to do, so I continued to train and turn up to the rink," Brendan said.
"There were days that I really loved it, so I ended up going on."
But the lead-up to his third Olympics was far from smooth, and looked to be over just as quickly as it had started.
"At the end of last season my left leg was really badly injured and I had to take about three or four months off."
The injury, a result of extensive stress fractures over many years, was so significant he almost had to withdraw from the Olympic qualifier - just weeks out from the opening of the Beijing Winter Games.
"My coach came to me and said ‘we have to make a decision about intensive rehab or consider pulling out'. But I said ‘there's no way I'm missing the Olympic spot now'."
That brave decision has been well rewarded, after the Sydney-born skater produced one of the best short program skates in the men's field. His almost clean routine has seen him easily advance through to the free skate.
After a rough morning practice session, Brendan was able to get his troublesome quadruple toe loop out with only a minor issue on the landing, and nailed his triple-triple combination and triple axel.
"I'm not an overly emotional person but I'm an emotional mess right now. It's hard not to shed a tear," Brendan said.
"I've been struggling with my leg issues and being isolated from friends and family for so long, so to go out and do that just feels so special.
"If I could give a message to everyone back home, I'm beyond appreciative of all the support I've had."
The attention now turns to the free program - an exhaustive routine that's more than four minutes in length.
"All season I've done pretty consistent short programs but the long program for some reason has been inconsistent so my goal now is to go out and put a good free skate down. That's something I feel like I really need to do."
olympics.com.au
Katherine Firkin
The 27-year-old joins rare company, confirming his place as a three-time Olympian - a particularly challenging feat in Figure Skating.
"What kept me going was that I didn't really know what I wanted to do, so I continued to train and turn up to the rink," Brendan said.
"There were days that I really loved it, so I ended up going on."
But the lead-up to his third Olympics was far from smooth, and looked to be over just as quickly as it had started.
"At the end of last season my left leg was really badly injured and I had to take about three or four months off."
The injury, a result of extensive stress fractures over many years, was so significant he almost had to withdraw from the Olympic qualifier - just weeks out from the opening of the Beijing Winter Games.
"My coach came to me and said ‘we have to make a decision about intensive rehab or consider pulling out'. But I said ‘there's no way I'm missing the Olympic spot now'."
That brave decision has been well rewarded, after the Sydney-born skater produced one of the best short program skates in the men's field. His almost clean routine has seen him easily advance through to the free skate.
After a rough morning practice session, Brendan was able to get his troublesome quadruple toe loop out with only a minor issue on the landing, and nailed his triple-triple combination and triple axel.
"I'm not an overly emotional person but I'm an emotional mess right now. It's hard not to shed a tear," Brendan said.
"I've been struggling with my leg issues and being isolated from friends and family for so long, so to go out and do that just feels so special.
"If I could give a message to everyone back home, I'm beyond appreciative of all the support I've had."
The attention now turns to the free program - an exhaustive routine that's more than four minutes in length.
"All season I've done pretty consistent short programs but the long program for some reason has been inconsistent so my goal now is to go out and put a good free skate down. That's something I feel like I really need to do."
olympics.com.au
Katherine Firkin
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