Zac Reid touched the wall, looked up at the race times and when he saw his, smashed his fist in the water in delight.
He had won the men's 400m freestyle final at last night's national champs but more importantly, qualified for this year's world championships with his time of 3:47.87.
Put simply, the Kiwi swimmer is back.
"I've been through the lowest of lows and to get back to the top and with a world champs time, it's been a long journey but it's so cool to be here now."
Long journey is an understatement.
The Kiwi swimmer is headed to the world championships after overcoming hip surgery and a rough Covid spell. (Source: 1News)
Reid was in flying form in 2021 off the back of making his Olympic debut in Tokyo with the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in his sights.
Hip surgery in November that year put a slight road bump in the road.
Still, he took it in his stride and was four months into recovery when his road bump became a mountain as he caught Covid-19 in March last year.
Reid's Covid battle took its toll and eventually he and his coaches agreed it was best he ease off, ending his dreams of heading to Birmingham.
Instead, this year's national championships became the new goal with entries in multiple events.
Reid failed to hit qualifying times for the World Championships in the first two days of competition but there was always one event Reid had targeted.
"The 800m was always going to be a push as I've been back in the pool six months, and then in the 200m I obviously didn't have the legs," he said.
"I knew that the 400m was going to be the one and if I was going to qualify, it was going to be in the 400m."
His good mate Lewis Clareburt placed second and outside the world championships qualification standard, but none of that mattered as he crossed two lanes to embrace Reid and celebrate his achievement.
"Everyone knows Lew is one of my best mates and we've been on this journey together for years," Reid said.
"We love seeing each other succeed and we push each other to do our best. That just shows how close we are.
"I mean, I'm staying with him for the competition - that just goes to show how close we are."
Another record for Fairweather
Reid's other swimming mate, Erika Fairweather, was just as excited for her flatmate.
In fact, Fairweather told 1News she may have gotten a bit too excited and exerted a bit of energy prior to her race.
"Seeing Zac qualify was epic so I might have cheered a little too hard... you should've heard me, there was a voice crack and everything," she said.
"To have him coming over to [the world championships] with us is just awesome... he's moved into the spare bedroom at my house so we're together 24-7.
"To see him do that and his emotions through that, everyone felt what he was feeling."
Regardless, Fairweather still put on a show of her own with another New Zealand record in the women's 400m freestyle in the following race, posting a 4:00.62 to inch ever-closer to the elusive four-minute mark.
The time beat her previous mark of 4:00.97 and is the sixth-fastest time in history.
Despite the achievement, the 19-year-old was already analysing her race and where she could find improvements to reach her goal.
"I think I just have to put together the race that I want to," she said.
"By the sounds of things, I didn't quite nail the first 200m of that race the way I would need to to go under [four minutes]."
But the Dunedin star isn't fazed.
"It's a matter of when, not if."
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