GEELONG'S champion wheelchair athlete Richard Colman was happy to get his selection in the Australian Paralympic team for London yesterday finally out of the way.
"It's really great to be finally selected, we got nominated in January so it's been a long time coming," Colman said.
Colman, 27, is heading to his third summer paralympics, having won gold in the 800m and silver in the 4x100m relay at his first in Athens in 2004.
At 2008 in Beijing, he won silver in the 200m and bronze in the 400m.
He is one of the senior members of a young Australian paralympics team for London.
"It's an enthusiastic young team, the atmosphere is bright and the team is doing really well," Colman said from the Australian camp in Brisbane yesterday.
"I'm doing two training sessions a day and everyone is very busy."
Colman will be among the busiest competitors in the Australian team and will be competing in the 200m, 400m, 800m and 4x400 relay.
He is maintaining a conservative approach to his medal prospects.
"Anything can happen on the day, there's 10 guys splitting within a fraction of each other. You've just go to make the final first, then your in with a chance," he said.
Colman was "very happy" with his recent meeting in Switzerland where he won his three 400m events.
"You could say the Olympics is the ultimate dream. Four years of work is coming down to a couple of days in September. It's going well, I raced competively in Switzerland and there's a lot of work to do between now and London, I've got 84 days," he said. "A lot could happen in that time."
Colman will head to Townsville for seven weeks of training in warm weather before joining the Australian team in Cardiff, Wales.
"I've got two or three more weeks of base work, heavy, long lactic stuff, then I'll drop down to speed work," he said.
Colman's Geelong coach Mandi Cole also trains young Geelong wheelchair athlete Sam McIntosh who has also been selected in the Australian team.
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