Lauren Parker is planning a big year and the Novocastrian aims to kick it off with another Paratriathlon Oceania crown in her home-town race on Sunday.
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The 31-year-old is gunning for another world title and Paralympic gold in 2020 and has some bad news for her rivals: she is feeling at the peak of her powers with improvement still to come.
"I'm feeling really good," Parker told the Newcastle Herald on Friday. "Training has been going really well and I'm feeling stronger than last year.
"I've just finished a training camp on the Gold Coast with my coach and that went really well and gave me a bit of confidence leading into this weekend. I'm looking forward to it."
Parker won the Paratriathlon Oceania Championships when they were staged in Newcastle for the first time last year.
She not only goes into this year's race as the defending champion but also the world title-holder.
"I still feel a bit of pressure to win, I think I just put that on myself really," Parker said.
"I want to win every race I go in, so that puts that little bit of pressure on me but it's good pressure.
"All these races are just a build-up towards Tokyo and where I want to get to - my main goal for the year."
Parker, who sustained life-changing injuries in a freak training accident in 2017, overcame surgery setbacks last year to capture the PTWC world crown in Switzerland in September.
It all-but booked passage to the Tokyo Paralympics and she starts the year ranked No.1 in the world - a position she does not plan to give up in a hurry.
"If my plan works out, I want to get the world title in May in Milan and I want to be No.1 going into Tokyo, rather than someone else be No.1 and have that confidence," she said.
"I want to have that confidence going into Tokyo."
Athletes complete a 750-metre swim in Newcastle Harbour, before a 20-kilometre cycle and 5km run through Newcastle's foreshore. The course has changed slightly to last year and Parker is aiming to get off to a strong start against compatriots Emily Tapp and Sara Tait in the PTWC class.
"I've still got room for improvement in all legs, but particularly the run," Parker said. "Over the past 12 months, I've improved so much on the run leg. I've still got a lot of work to do but it's good to see that I'm improving and the times are coming down.
"The course is a bit different this year. The run leg is not flat like it was last year and there's a bit of an incline. I'm getting stronger but I'm not as good as Emily on that section, but hopefully I can put together a good swim-bike and set up a good lead."
The Oceania championships offer key qualification points for the Paralympics and joining Parker in Newcastle will be a host of experienced paratriathletes, including 2016 Paralympic gold medallist Katie Kelly (PTVI), and Commonwealth Games medallists Tapp and Nic Beveridge (PTWC).
Racing gets underway on Sunday from 7.30am.