Natasha Perdue plans to complete a remarkable journey by slipping back into life as a council worker after her dream Olympic Games ride ends next month.
During the gruelling selection process for London 2012 the veteran weightlifter had to combine her full-time training regime with a day job in the refuse department at Leeds City Council, having relocated to Yorkshire to be closer to British Weight Lifting's High Performance Centre.
Perdue duly gave up her life as a bin lady, and the 6am starts that go with it, last month after clinching a coveted place among Team GB's five-strong squad of lifters.
But the 36-year-old, who turns 37 just days before she competes in the 69kg weight category at the ExCeL, is planning to return to normality in her hometown of Swansea when the Olympic flame is extinguished.
Perdue said: "I've given up my council job in Leeds to try and give myself five weeks of proper training and recovery. I have been training properly mind, don't misunderstand that. But the recovery, the rest...
"And I'm feeling great. I have got too much energy at the moment because I'm just bouncing around everywhere.
"I go back to work in Swansea then, the council will employ me hopefully. Back to normality then."
Perdue, a former national karate champion before she switched sports, has had to make a host of sacrifices to reach this point, but she insists she is no different to anyone else.
"I say it all the time, everybody makes sacrifices in life generally. At the end of the day it is sport, but yes it is our lives and we choose this path," Perdue added.
"Fortunately for me I'm standing here with my kit on going to the Olympic Games."