After years of sacrifice for his sport, Papua New Guinean sprinter Theo Piniau looked set for the greatest race of his life at the Commonwealth Games, only to be struck by injury weeks out.
He missed the record he desperately wanted, but his run was a victory for resilience.
For a sprinter, Theo Piniau certainly knows how to go the distance.
Every step of his athletics career has required determination and sacrifice but the 2018 Commonwealth Games also taught him resilience and acceptance.
After devoting a year of his life to training on the Gold Coast and fashioning a near-perfect preparation, the 200-metre PNG national record holder tore a hamstring and adductor.
Hopes of a new record were replaced with prayers that he would simply get to the start line.
He did, finishing an honourable fifth in his heat, in 21.76 seconds.
"It's definitely worth it," he says.
"The Commonwealth Games for a second time, that's never easy to make. I wasn't sure if I was going to make the team when I got injured. But I did it."
Taking a break back home in Rabaul before ramping up his sport and study again, Theo's satisfaction is justified.
At just 25 Piniau is an Olympian, international college student, Oceania Australia Foundation scholarship recipient and, given his bad luck with injury, something of a philosopher.
"I'm really pleased with the performance," he says of his Games effort.
"I know that I am getting better and stronger. I was expecting and hoping to run a quicker time but this is acceptable for me because I am always happy with progress."
He has certainly progressed since discovering his speed on a soccer pitch in Rabaul could lead to a career in athletics.
He left provincial PNG for rural Iowa, USA, to study business at Southwestern Community College before setting up camp on the Gold Coast and sharpening his focus on athletics.
"I was so keen in breaking the record before I got injured but things happen."
"I've lived here a fair bit to get used to how things go around here and training here made me feel like I was home. It has a homely kind of vibe."
"I just need to get back into training and build on the form that I have and look to the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa."
All the while, back home in PNG, Theo's family have backed his grand vision - from Rabaul to Rio, college to the Commonwealth Games.
"My family are always behind me.
"Every decision I make, they are with me and they support me, emotionally, spiritually and financially."
With worldliness comes wisdom and with rebuff comes resilience. Piniau's progress despite painful setbacks is an example he hopes will echo all the way across PNG to Rabaul.
"Just try to be a better person and a better athlete than you were the day before, the week before, the month before, the year before and you'll succeed if you keep doing that."
Theo Piniau is already a success by any standard, but he is establishing a mental toughness to match his physical potential.
Perhaps Piniau's resilience will ultimately prove as critical as his sprinting skills when it comes to re-writing records.
This story was produced by ABC International Development as part of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade-funded Pacific Sports Partnerships.