Eight years after she initially hung up her oars, Kiwi sculler Emma Twigg will head to a record fifth Olympic Games at Paris.
Twigg, 37, has been named as part of an 18-strong rowing team, half of whom have already won world championship or Olympic medals.
One of those is her gold at Tokyo, a medal she thought was out of reach at one stage, but as she heads to Paris as the defending champion, she's enjoying every last moment.
He may not have been too keen today, but even Twigg's two-year-old son has a vague idea of mum's achievements.
"It's cool that Tommy is now at an age where mum is off rowing," said Twigg.
In less than two months, she'll do so again at another Olympics, 16 years after her first.
"That makes me feel really old. If someone had said to 21-year-old Twiggy that I'd be standing here at my fifth Olympic announcement, I'd be laughing at them and it wouldn't be on my radar."
Paris will likely be her last Games, but despite how clean she cuts the glassy Karapiro waters, the journey has been anything but smooth.
"I don't see it as any more superhuman than what many people do," she insisted. "Especially when you look at doctors and nurses, and all those kinds of people that are contributing more than rowers are."
Fourth-place finishes at London 2012 and then Rio 2016 saw her step aside, only to then return for Tokyo on her way to gold.
"That is all part of the story, I guess, and it's one of the reasons I'm still standing here now," said Twigg. "Taking that time out and that perspective, having that time away and realising how good it is.
"It's a privilege to be here and putting yourself into the hurt locker every single day. I just love the day to day of what I do.
"The racing is a consequence, but I just love trying to be better every single day."
While she tried running forward, passing backwards and clearing the front leg, in the end, she always came back to sitting in a boat and going backwards.
Alone.
"I guess you stick to what you're good at and no-one's been pulling my arm too much to hop in another boat with them."
As she prepares to branch out into a new forest, rowing's timeless Twigg will have one final crack at Olympic glory.
Women
Single scull - Emma Twigg
Double scull - Lucy Spoors, Brooke Francis
Coxless pair -Alana Sherman, Kate Haines
Coxless four - Kerri Williams, Davina Waddy, Phoebe Spoors, Jackie Gowler
Men
Single scull - Tom Mackintosh
Double scull - Robbie Manson, Jordan Parry
Coxless four - Matt Macdonald, Tom Murray, Logan Ullrich, Oliver Maclean
