Andrew Edmondson admits it "sucks" there will be minimal fans in the stands when the Australian Steelers wheelchair rugby team start their Tokyo Paralympic campaign in late August.
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"It's going to be a very different Games experience," the Port Macquarie product admitted.
"It's going to suck that we don't have (crowds), but we still have a job to do. Medals are still on the line and for me, that's more important than having people in the stands."
He made his Paralympic debut at Rio in 2016 and five years later he will experience the opposite of the raucous crowds which spurred them on to gold medal success.
While the atmosphere will resemble that associated with a training session, Edmondson is focused on the job at hand.
After the Games were postponed for 12 months as a result of the pandemic, the motivation levels were difficult to maintain.
"We train every day to compete. I love playing for Australia. I'm a competitor. I love being out there, so give me competition and I thrive on that."
- Andrew Edmondson
Now the light is at the end of the tunnel.
"I have to be ready for my teammates and the number one goal for me is to make sure when we get to Tokyo I'm ready, and all 12 of us are ready to win that gold medal," Edmondson said.
"The last 12 to 18 months has been difficult for us not being able to compete. We train every day to compete. I love playing for Australia. I'm a competitor. I love being out there, so give me competition and I thrive on that.
"Going into a 'Paras' and not playing for over 18 months is so challenging, but those are the cards we've been dealt and we've got to roll with it.
"We'll be as ready as we can be."
The 2017 OAM recipient feels Tokyo 2021 could be his breakout year.
"At Rio, the biggest challenge for me was whether I was worthy of being in the team," he said.
"I'd just started out in the program and being selected was a really challenging process, but now I know I'm a big part of this team.
"I'm worthy of being there."
When Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk closed the Queensland border to all of NSW last week, Edmondson and Port Macquarie teammate and captain Ryley Batt were affected.
But the 31-year-old remained focused.
"I have to be ready for my teammates and the number one goal for me is to make sure when we get to Tokyo I'm ready, and all 12 of us are ready to win that gold medal."
- Andrew Edmondson
"The last couple of months for me have been about drowning out all the bad noise and focusing on the positive which is that the gold medal is still on the line," he said.
"We still get the opportunity to compete and play for our country and yes our family won't be in the stands, but every single one of them will be watching us.
"That's just as important."
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