As Kaarle McCulloch flew across the finish line at the Izu Velodrome in August she knew it would be her last hurrah.
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The Southern Highlands-raised Olympian has called time on a glittering 15-year career, one that saw her win a bronze medal at London 2012 and two golds at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, alongside a host of other honours.
Speaking to the Southern Highland News, McCulloch said the decision had been a long time coming.
"I think there's a sense of relief now that I've finally made the decision," she said.
"I knew it was on the cards even before the postponement of Tokyo so now with another year under my belt and a couple of months to really understand that it's what I want to do, I feel relieved."
Making the team for Tokyo 2020 wasn't even a certainty when McCulloch was felled by a back injury, plunging her Olympic ambitions, and career, into doubt.
It's why despite an impressive recovery to make it to Japan, the 33-year old is happy to wave goodbye to the grueling life of a pro athlete.
"With Tokyo and all the injuries, I was really proud of my efforts there," she said.
"I've had a few people comment and say Paris is only three years away but I think what a lot of people don't realise is the effort that it takes to just show up every day and try and be better than the day before...I've been doing that for 15 years.
"But in the end what I came to realise was success doesn't always look like a gold medal, sometimes it's seeing something through and doing the best you can with the preparation you have."
The Highlander made it through to the semi-finals of the Women's Keirin race and despite the crowds being kept away, was appreciative of her triumph in being Australia's sole representative in the event.
"Being there and putting on the very green and yellow suit, I thought this is why I did it," she explained.
"It really felt special, it was nine years in between Olympics for me so it was nice to do it again and know that not only am I the best in Australia but the one of the best in the world."
"Part of the appeal of the Olympics is the crowd. I'll never forget the London Olympics where they had a decibel reader in there and it was the loudest event in all the venues because it was a concave roof.
"I just remember being on the start line and the announcer introducing the Great Britain team and I honestly felt like there were 20 million people there to boo me."
When asked what her proudest moment was, McCulloch flew past her bronze medal effort alongside Anna Meares in London, going straight for her gold in the 500m time trial on the Gold Coast in 2018.
"Everything about that race came together for me in a way that athletes search for their whole careers," she said.
"I can only count on one hand the times where things have just come together for me. It's why winning an Olympic gold medal is so revered, everything has to come together. You might be the most prepared and the best physically but you still have to put everything together. It's a whole package thing.
"To do what I did under the immense amount of pressure is definitely something I will walk away from for the rest of my life and think, 'yeah that's a really special moment.'
So, what's next for the Bowral High product? Well, there's a strong chance locals could be seeing her around town.
"I'm actually finishing my degree so I'm looking to do my final teaching placement somewhere and I've had in the back of my mind that I could go back to old stomping grounds in the Southern Highlands to finish off my degree."
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