Former world silver medallist Lisa Dobriskey was delighted to reach the final of the 1,500 metres at the Olympic trials after overcoming a life-threatening illness.
Dobriskey, who won gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and silver at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, revealed recently she has been suffering with blood clots on her lungs.
"It's been really stressful but I'm kind of looking at it now and I'm so grateful to be able to run again," the 28-year-old from Kent said after winning her heat in Birmingham.
The result of the clots was a vastly-reduced lung capacity, a problem which was picked up by hospital scans after Dobriskey had reported problems breathing at the end of training sessions.
She added: "I was told by a specialist that that was it, just give up and take six months off, you won't be able to run. I'm looking at this as such a bonus and I'm so grateful to be back.
"The last scan showed minimal blood clots but the big artery that was blocked has cleared completely. The human body is amazing because they said it would take a long time to recover. Hopefully I can prove my form in time and be in that team.
"I think I've got enough time to play with. It's not been a smooth ride but I've made massive, massive progress in such a short period of time. I believe I can do it, it's just whether they select me."
The top two in Sunday's final will be selected for the Olympics if they have a current 'A' standard time, but Dobriskey does not have that time and will only have until July 1 to do so.