It's been a long and winding road from New South Wales to Rio for Australian marathon runner Scott Westcott. In 2000, Westcott missed out on the Olympic Games when they were held in his home country. Sixteen years later, undaunted by a series of setbacks and disappointments, Westcott has finally qualified for the most prestigious marathon in the calendar.

"The Olympics are the ultimate competition. Completing the Olympic marathon will be a dream come true," Westcott told the website of the Australian Olympic Committee. On Thursday (12 May), the committee confirmed that Westcott would form part of the country's three-man team for the men's marathon in Rio.

Although he has taken part in the Commonwealth Games, Westcott failed to qualify for the Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games. After the London disappointment he briefly gave up competitive running, only to find the lure of the sport irresistible. At the Berlin Marathon in October last year, he ran 2:15:30, finally qualifying for the country's Olympic team. 

In Rio, Westcott will become Australia’s oldest athletics competitor ever to make a Games debut. "Having hunger and desire are essential," he said. "I have kept my hunger burning for close to 20 years."

The father-of-three says he will be representing all the people who have helped him make the long journey to the Olympic Games, especially father Lawriett, who passed away in late 2014.

Westcott crossed the finishing line in fourth place at the 2006 Commowealth Games in Melbourne (Photo: Getty Images/Stu Forster)

Westcott is confident of recording a competitive time on the big day of 21 August, when he will be 40 years and 331 days old. “I am probably in the best head space of my career,” he said. “Training is going well and not having just completed a marathon in early 2016 means I am fresh and ready to go. I will prepare as smart as I can and run myself into a peak for August 21. Bring it on!”

Surprisingly, Westcott will not be the oldest competitor in the marathon. USA athlete Meb Keflezighi, 41 years old, has also made the cut. Westcott says that in the future he expects to see more over-forties challenging for Olympic places in the marathon event, where experience counts for so much.

“The marathon is the ultimate challenge, the perfect distance for testing endurance and speed,"  Westcott says. "I have had a look at the course in Rio and its challenging. It’s going to be an amazing experience for me to run and complete an Olympic marathon. It will be a dream come true."