Roy Shanks bursts into a hearty laugh when asked if he has booked a flight to London.
The proud father of new world champion Alison Shanks might be one of his daughter's greatest advocates, but he is also a realist.
And planning a trip to London for the 2012 Olympics is just a bit premature, he concedes.
Although, after Alison's stunning victory in the women's 3000m individual pursuit at the world track cycling championships in Poland yesterday, you could forgive him for a hasty visit to a travel agency.
"A lot can happen in the next three years and it is a matter of Alison looking at smaller goals," he said.
"You can't always make a giant step but if you put the ladder against the wall and take small steps you can get there, and that is how she approaches things."
Since switching codes from netball to cycling four years ago, the former New Zealand A midcourter has made stellar progress on the track.
She finished fourth at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006, fourth at the Beijing Olympics and won a world cup event in Beijing earlier this year.
"She has these little goals and she managed to achieve two of those [yesterday] by winning the world champs and going through the 3min 30sec barrier," Roy said.
There was a golden glow at the New Zealand Academy of Sport (South Island) yesterday, too.
The academy has played a significant role in helping Shanks lift her cycling skills to world championship level.
She was a carded netball player with the academy for four years before she switched sports.
When Shanks was considering giving up netball she discussed the issues with the academy's chief executive, Kereyn Smith.
"She wanted to know how it might work and where she should work, live and establish her base.
We have supported her aspirations and Olympic dreams," Smith said.
The academy assisted Shanks in her development initially with a Prime Minister's scholarship when she was studying at the University of Otago.
"More recently we have helped Ali, and her coach Craig Palmer, with sports science and sports medicine advice and with the latest wind tunnel technology," Smith said.
"We have been a small part of her team."
The success of Shanks is a significant case study of how a top athlete can transfer to another sport and succeed on the world stage.
"We have helped Ali open up a new pathway for herself and it is likely to occur more frequently in the future," Smith said.
"It shows what can be done if an athlete who has a passion for their sport and has the right talent, the best environment and the best coach."
