Beyond the patriotic chest beating that accompanies every major international competition, the Paralympic Games in Rio - which starts in under 100 days - appears destined to become a watershed moment in the way Australians living with disabilities perceive their opportunities in sport and society.
Vastly expanded broadcast scheduling, including a minimum 14 hours a day on commercial free-to-air television, all-but guarantees record exposure to not only the wider Australian population but a new generation of people with physical or intellectual impairments who may not have realised the pathway athletic competition can offer them. 
Australia is on track to send a 172-athlete team to Rio, our largest Paralympic representation excluding Sydney 2000. Of those already selected, more than half will experience their first Games. The Australian Paralympic Committee is confident the team can finish within the top five nations, alongside China, Russia, Great Britain and host Brazil. To do so, they would need to win about 40 gold medals in 16 sports. However, for many associated with Australia's Paralympic effort, the success of the Rio Games will also be measured in less tangible terms.
"You never know who these broadcasts are going to reach," chef de mission Kate McLoughlin said.
"I think we're going to be really surprised at the feedback. There's going to be young kids out there with disabilities who are going to see the Paralympics this time around and think 'If that person can do it, then that's something I want to aspire to as well'.
"I think it's going to be a bit of a game-changer for all of us in terms of normalising disability and making sure that young kids see that there is always an avenue for them in sport, no matter what their situation is."
Australia's team is extremely diverse. Competitors range in age from 14-year-old swimmer Tiffany Thomas-Kane, making her Games debut, to 74-year-old shooter Libby Kosmala, going to her 12th. They come from all sorts of backgrounds and have often gone through traumatic experiences and battled to re-shape their lives. As an example, former combat engineer Curtis McGrath, a para-canoe medal hope, lost his legs in a mine explosion while serving in Afghanistan. Swimmer Monique Murphy lost part of a leg after falling 20 metres from a fifth-floor balcony.
"Not only are their stories amazing, but also the interactions between the athletes," McLoughlin said.
"There are so many role models in this team who are helping the next generation come through and have a great experience. Hopefully that will help all of them reach their goals and continue our great success from recent Games."
Australia finished fifth at the London 2012 Paralympics with 85 medals, including 32 gold. Swimming, athletics and cycling won 29 between them and the wheelchair rugby team secured victory for the first time. Generally, Australia's teams have boxed above their weight.
"GB, Russia, China and Brazil will have massive teams this year and they're expecting to do very well," McLoughlin said. "Our team is on the bigger side, but we're not the biggest team by any stretch. Given that, we tend to do very well and our athletes are excellent.
"Still, we're hoping for a top five finish. I think at this stage we'll be close to it. It's a real possibility but it gets harder and harder every time and the difference between third and 10th place can be a matter of one or two medals. I don't think anyone's going to catch China or Russia. Great Britain has done very well lately and Brazil will be a force. But we are aiming high.
"I think one of the best things about these Games will be the recognition our athletes will receive. They feel it already with the increased broadcasting and sponsorship. They train just as hard as the able-bodied athletes, put just as much time and effort into it and finally they're getting that exposure they deserve. But I think the awareness of disability in the community will also be a big factor. It's not just about the athletes, but it's about disability in the community. That's going to be the bigger picture for all of us."
TEN PARALYMPIANS TO WATCH:
1. Curtis McGrath (para-canoe) - The Australian army engineer lost both legs in an IED explosion while serving in Afghanistan. He is a reigning world champion in para-canoe, which will debut in Rio.
2. Katie Kelly with Michellie Jones (para-triathlon) - Kelly, who is losing her sight, competed in several high level able-bodied endurance events before being identified by Australian Paralympic Committee talent scouts. Her sighted guide is Sydney 2000 Olympic silver medallist Michellie Jones. Para-triathlon will debut in Rio.
3. Dylan Alcott (wheelchair tennis) - Alcott competed in wheelchair basketball at two Games before switching to tennis. He is the current world No.1.
4. Evan O'Hanlon (athletics) - O'Hanlon is fastest athlete with cerebral palsy in the world. He is undefeated in Paralympic competition, with five gold medals from two Games, all world records.
5. Leisl Tesch / Dan Fitzgibbon (sailing) - They are the defending Paralympic champions. Sailing has been removed from the Tokyo 2020 Games so this is their last chance. Tesch went to five Games in wheelchair basketball before winning gold in sailing in London 2012.
6. Tiffany Thomas-Kane (swimming) - Thomas-Kane is likely to be the youngest athlete on the team. She won multiple medals at her first World Championships last year, aged just 13.
7. Libby Kosmala (shooting) - Kosmala is an Australian sporting treasure, who has won 13 Paralympics medals, including nine gold. She will compete in her 12th Games.
8. Melissa Tapper (table tennis) - Tapper is the first Australian athlete to qualify for the Olympics and Paralympics in the same year.
9. Isis Holt (athletics) - Holt had a meteoric rise to win the 100m - 200m sprint double at the 2015 World Championships in Doha. The 15-year-old is a big hope to win two gold medals.
10. Team captains Kurt Fearnley (athletics) and Danni Di Toro (table tennis) - Di Toro played wheelchair tennis at five Paralympics but has changed sports. Fearnley is a three-time gold medallist in long distance wheelchair racing.