But the Newcastle 32-year-old is determined to take gold now that she is finally there and racing in her first Paralympics on Sunday morning.

Winning in Toyko has been the driving force through every training session and every setback since Parker inspired a nation with a bronze-medal performance in paratriathlon at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

It came just over 12 months after a freak cycling accident near Raymond Terrace left her paralysed from the waist down.

The latest setback was a skin infection followed by surgery in April, which resulted in 20 days in hospital and five weeks of being unable to train. It threatened to derail her Paralympic dream.

But Parker told the Newcastle Herald before leaving for Japan that she was "back on track and feeling stronger than ever" after spending five weeks in Cairns finalising preparations for Tokyo.

Best friend and training partner Brad Fernley was with Parker when her life changed forever on April 18, 2017.

He has been with her since and told the Herald from Tokyo during the week that he believes no one can stop her pursuit for Paralympic glory.

"All of the sessions were absolutely brilliant for the five weeks we were in Cairns," Fernley said.

"When we got to Japan, her coach asked me how she was going. I said, 'Swimming's fine. Bike's fine. Running's fine. Strength is great and she's got a lot of happiness there that I haven't seen for a long time.' I have never seen her so mentally clear-minded. Her head is on the job and she is totally focused.

"She's not nervous at the moment. She's excited and I don't think there's anyone who can beat Lauren in this Paralympics."

Parker powered to the PTWC world title in September 2019 to declare herself as the Paralympics gold medal favourite before the global coronavirus crisis forced the postponement of the Tokyo Games by 12 months.

As their August 20 departure date approached, neither Parker nor Fernley were convinced the Games would proceed with Japan battling an increase in coronavirus cases.

"We were concerned and had talked about the potential the Games may not go ahead, so it's great to finally be here," Fernley said.

Parker spent time during the week familiarising herself with the Toyko course. The Novocastrian relishes the hot and humid conditions athletes will compete in and was looking forward to racing after limited events in preparation.

She won the City of Newcastle paratriathlon for a third straight year in February before destroying her competition one week later to also collect a hat-trick of wins in Devonport, Tasmania.

"She just wants to race again," Fernley said. "We train and train and train and don't know what the rest of the world is doing. If we were racing like normal, I would know exactly where we are.

"But all I know is that from the Lausanne, Switzerland world championships, she's a stronger swimmer, stronger on the bike and far better in the run today than she was then by a long way.

"I'm assuming all of her competitors have improved but we can't be worrying about them. Lauren has come here with a job to do and I don't think anyone will beat her."

Related:

Parker will race for the women's PTWC title at 7.30am AEST on Sunday.

The swim will comprise a 750-metre single lap of Tokyo Bay followed by four five-kilometre laps of a flat and technical bike course before a 6km final run leg.

"It will be harder to break away on the bike because it is a flat course," Fernley said. "She would like some hills to be in there but she went out on the road with her coach the other day and he's excited by the form she is in."

Parker has painted her racing wheelchair gold as a statement.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: