Most people spend years trying to get to the Paralympics, yet for one Kiwi para paddler, they have had just 16 months.
Corbin Hart gruesomely lost his leg in a roading accident less than two years ago, and has since taken up canoe sprint, beaten able-bodied athletes, and set his eye on the upcoming Paralympics in Tokyo.
Hart has described the goal as "chasing the impossible", but in less than a month the 26-year-old is hoping to line up for his first ever international para event, and his third regatta in total.
Pending health and safety sign off, a World Cup in Hungary will be his one shot for the Tokyo Games.
"It would be pretty unreal," Hart told 1 NEWS.
"To think 15 months ago that I was laying in a hospital bed. So that's what I'm really going for. I'm not doing it for anyone else, I'm doing it for myself."
Only in recent months has it all come together.
After training with just one leg for balance, Hart and his team have created a prosthetic, which has helped him clock two seconds faster on the water.
Not only that, Hart has also been going head-to-head with Rio Olympic paddler Aimee Fisher, who praised Hart for his rapid improvement.
"In less than a year he's beating me, and we're extremely competitive."
But for Hart to get to Tokyo he has to claim one of the final four spots.
"Tracking his progress and seeing the numbers he's putting down at training, on paper it looks really good," Fisher said.
"To go over there and test that is really exciting and a big challenge for him."
The ParaCanoe World Championships are set to be held in Szeged, Hungary from May 13 to 15.
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