That was until an eleventh hour call up to the men’s 400m relay final on October 26. Running first, Model put Australia in the lead and his teammates – Nathan and Stix Parker, and Benjamin Yeomans – finishing off to claim gold.

“I was only a reserve but I got the call up at lunch time on the day. I ended up starting and got away to a pretty good start,” he said. 

“The boys brought it home in an impressive time. It was an amazing experience. It was a packed house, too.

“To finish my part and race back to the finish line with everyone screaming as Ben (Yeomans) crossed the line was one of the best moments of my life.”

Model said the games were much bigger and “so much more electric” than he could have imagined.

“The games have truly changed my outlook on life. It’s given me more of a purpose to continue using sport in my rehab not only for me but for my friends and families lives,” he said.

“To enjoy this with my friends and family ... that noise of our home crowd is something I’ll never forget. It’s spine tingling stuff.

“Being around other athletes in a similar situation was special. There is so much camaraderie among not only the Australians but the other countries. To be able to come together and share the event together is something unforgettable.”

The media hype with prince Harry and the fact Model managed to convince the duke to don a pair of budgie smugglers was, in his words, unreal.

“My grandma met his grandma back in the day, and to be able to meet him was such an honour,” he said.

Model will enjoy the closing ceremony and then farewell everyone at a special function on October 28.

“I’ll be heading home after that and try and come back to earth before I go back to work on Monday,” he said. 

“I’ll try and have some downtime with the family and decide what’s going to come up next. I’m thinking of doing fundraising for veterans organisations, which is something I’ll be looking at closely for 2019.”