Olympic bronze medallist Sally Conway is determined to step things up as she aims to secure a place on the podium at the World Judo Championships in Budapest.
The 30-year-old took a well-deserved break following her success at under-70 kilograms in Rio last summer.
After deciding not to compete at April's European Championships in Poland, where both Great Britain team-mates Natalie Powell and Alice Schlesinger won bronze, Conway has slowly eased herself back into the rigours of a demanding training regime.
Conway collected silver at both the recent Bucharest European Open and Cancun Grand Prix.
The Scottish judoka, who also won bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, now has her sights set on delivering more success as part of a 12-strong British squad in Hungary, with the 2017 World Championships set to run from August 28 to September 3.
"It is probably the longest break I have had in my judo career," Conway told Press Association Sport.
"It was really nice to be able to finish on a high with an Olympic bronze medal and then be able to celebrate with friends and family, to go to different events and enjoy those experiences. Now, though, I am back and ready to go again.
"To start with it was very hard to go back into training, but I took it steady to get back up to sharpness again, having a clear goal of what competition I wanted to get back for because I didn't want to rush it.
"I am not comparing myself to how I was before the Olympics, when I was in the best physical condition I could have been in and was in a good place mentally, I have just been taking it week by week, step by step.
"I have had to step it up and to dig in, to know I still had it in me to win those fights when it gets tough.
"Now I am ready to take it up again another level when it comes to the World Championships."
Conway added: "I feel that I am capable of winning a medal, and that is what I am going there to try to get, but for me I have to take it one contest at a time, fight the best I possibly can and then see what happens."
Judo is set to return to its spiritual home at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, which will also host a mixed team event at the Games for the first time.
Conway, who was born in Bristol and now trains out of the British Judo Centre of Excellence in Walsall, feels a trip to Japan would represent a dream finale.
"I would love to have my last Olympics in Tokyo, it is the home of judo and will be an amazing event which would be something special," she said.
"I still feel I can get better and win medals so as long as I am still enjoying it and doing that, then I will keep going."
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