Conrad Williams doesn't think competing at London 2012 will be quite as nerve-wracking as he found the race for Olympic qualification.
The 30-year-old completed a remarkable turnaround in fortunes by edging out training partner Nigel Levine at the Aviva Trials in Birmingham on Sunday to seal the second guaranteed 400 metres spot on the British team behind winner Martyn Rooney.
Williams endured a terrible 2011 when he failed to even qualify for the national final and subsequently wasn't included in the 4x400m relay squad for the world championships in Daegu, but he used those disappointments to fire him up ahead of the biggest year of all.
He said: "Last year I was about the fourth ranked athlete coming into the trials but didn't even make the final. It was obviously devastating. I didn't have a great year and it wasn't as if I was injured either.
"So it's been a huge training year for me and it's a real accolade to be an individual at an Olympics.
"I was playing back in my head a million times the night before how to run the race - you always worry but you've got to try and stay positive and make sure you end up in that team.
"There's no second chances. To be honest, the trials are harder than the Olympics for us. Now we've qualified we can relax.
"Ever since we got the Olympics everyone kept saying to me 'are you going to the Olympics' and that was always a hard question to answer - but now I can say 'yes I am' rather than pretend! The only problem is I haven't got any tickets but I'm going to try and work something out.
"There's no need to block any of the Olympics out - I'm going to be excited as much as I can because I'm there. Before, it was so nerve-wracking and until you make that team you can't really enjoy the build-up.
"A lot of peoples' dream ended in the first round and you've got to make sure you're not one of them. For me now I can enjoy myself and enjoy athletics."
Williams and Levine were two of four Linford Christie-coached athletes to reach the 400m final, three of which also possessing the 'A' qualifying standard time of 45.30 seconds this season, but the latter faces an anxious wait to learn if he'll be awarded the third and final discretionary spot.
"For Linford to have so many people in the final and three with the 'A' standard shows the calibre of athletes I'm training with - I can't have an off day," said Williams. "Every day I have to turn up really positive.
"For me to kill someone else's dream I have to get my own dream - and that's what I did. It's a tough sport.
"He'll be down but knowing Nigel, he'll bounce back. He's just worried he might not make it but we're confident he'll be there as the third individual."
While Rooney was Britain's sole representative in the men's 400m in Daegu, the relay team could only finish a dismal seventh and Charles van Commenee admitted it was one of the events which worried him.
But this year Williams isn't the only athlete to have stepped up his game and now a relay medal is very much on the cards.
The Kent runner, who was a part of the quartet which won silver medals at the 2009 worlds and the 2010 European championships, said: "This year our form has just shown what the Olympics mean.
"Being a home Games all the athletes want to be there. Four guys have the qualifying standard this year but last year nobody ran that time.
"Everyone is going to raise their game in Olympic year and you've just got to make sure you're part of that group. If you're not - well, you can just see how devastated people are when they walk off the track."
