SPORT can be brutal at times; I am not talking about the gladiatorial aspect of sports, more the ruthless nature.

Success and failure can be measured in the smallest of margins; an Olympic dream can be realised in a matter of minutes or seconds. That dream can also be shattered in a moment as well. 

Canberra swimmer Ben Treffers had set his sights on making his first Olympic team in the 100-metre backstroke. His specialty was the 50 metres, but this is not an Olympic event. So his motivation for years of early morning training sessions was the prospect of securing a place in the team for Rio in the 100 metres. 

But it wasn’t to be. In the trials in Adelaide he needed to finish in the top two positions. He finished in fourth place in a time well outside his best. In the end, it came down to 53 seconds of his life and he just missed out. 

Champion Canberra rower Hannah Every-Hall had to survive an appeal from a rival Australian crew to make it through to the qualifying regatta in Lucerne in the first place. In Switzerland, she and partner Georgia Nesbitt finished fifth in the repêchage and didn’t make it through to the final in the women’s lightweight double sculls.

The result meant that both Hannah and the boat didn’t qualify for the Olympics. In the end it came down to one race. 

At 38 years of age, Hannah has achieved plenty with a world title in the lightweight quad in 2002, followed by a fifth placing in the 2012 London Olympics. 

Duke Didier represented Australia in judo in Glasgow and he had placed his energy in securing a place in his first Olympic team. After a series of gruelling competitions, he finished outside the cut off in the world rankings needed to qualify for the Olympics. 

Hockey player Glenn Turner is fighting for a place in the Australian men’s team for the Olympics, but his chances hang by a thread. He has battled injury and was forced out of the team for the series against Great Britain in what would have been his first appearance for the Kookaburras this year. To win a place in the team for Rio, he needs to be playing as a number of players are vying for selection. 

As athletes struggle to come to terms with the fine line between what is perceived to be success and failure they could do well to draw on the inspiration provided by wheelchair basketballer Tim Markcrow. 

In 2009, Tim was a 16-year-old student at Daramalan College when he suffered severe spinal injuries during a fall off a motorbike at Fairbairn. 

In his own words, he could have given up and spent his days on the couch, but that wasn’t in his psyche. He devoted himself to achieving in wheelchair basketball. 

Fast forward to 2016 and Tim is in line for selection in the Australian wheelchair basketball team for the Rio Paralympics. There is still a selection process to overcome, but to get to this point is an achievement in itself.

It is something from which we can all draw inspiration.