In an ideal world, Joshua Laws would be back home with an Olympic medal around his neck.
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Instead, he has re-started preparations for the postponed 2021 Tokyo - and he hopes Wollongong will provide the perfect launch pad for his chance to impress on the world's biggest stage.
The Olyroos midfielder is in town with Wellington Phoenix as they prepare for the upcoming A-League season. The club is holding their pre-season training camp at the University of Wollongong, with the league kicking off in late December.
"It's very nice here. It's my first time down in Wollongong and, although I haven't seen much of it yet, it seems like a quite relaxed place which is something that draws me in," Laws said.
"The first week here was a lot of fitness, a lot of running. We're putting in a lot of effort because it's going to be a tough season. It's going to be hot so we've all got to be fit."
While excited about the upcoming season, Laws has his eye on a long-term goal: representing Australia at next year's Olympic Games.
The 22-year-old was called up for the recent Olyroos camp, where they played friendly games against Sydney FC and A-League newbies Macarthur FC.
"It was great to get the call up again, it's obviously a huge honour," he said.
"It was the first camp we've had since qualifying for the Olympics. It's a shame that they've now been postponed but it will happen regardless, fingers crossed. But it's something that we're really looking forward to.
"There's a really good vibe within the team and everyone is really excited about the preparations for it. We've now got a period of time between now and next year where hopefully we can have more camps to gel together, and play more together to prepare for the tournament."
Australia booked their Olympic dream by beating Uzbekistan 1-0 in the third versus fourth playoff at the AFC Under 23s Championships in Thailand in January.
"The tournament in Thailand was definitely difficult but we made it, we managed to qualify. It was definitely one of the proudest experiences of my life," Laws said.
"It was a shame that I couldn't be there at the time, I had to go back to Germany because of an injury. But it was huge, it's honestly incredible for any athlete to be part of the Olympics."
For now, Laws remains focused on the A-League. It will be his first season in the competition after signing with the Phoenix in October. And as he hopes to make an immediate impression.
"I've come to play, as every other player will also say. But I want to be consistently starting and for the team to do well," Laws said.
"The team did very well last season and were unlucky that it didn't go the way they wanted in the end. But they played really good football and that's something that I have to fit into, and quickly learn how they want to play and quickly execute it.
"Getting more game time means that your chance of going to the Olympics is also greater, that comes into play at the end of the season. There's a lot of things to fight for me this season."