The 34-year-old Black Sticks defender has had to work hard to get his body ready for his third Olympic campaign.
He will be joining his old Otago mates, Hugo Inglis and Kane Russell, in what will probably be the trio’s last dip at glory.
Russell might have another campaign in him. He is two years younger than the other two.
But Tarrant cannot see his remarkable journey lasting much longer.
He grew up in Dunedin playing hockey alongside Inglis and Russell.
The three have been more or less permanent fixtures in the national team during the past decade.
Between them they have clocked more than 700 games.
Inglis is on his fourth Olympic campaign and Russell and Tarrant will register their third.
So far they have returned home without any extra baggage.
The Black Sticks reached the quarterfinals in Rio but, well, that is where the wisdom comes in.
New Zealand led Germany 2-1 with less than a minute remaining, but let in two late goals in the most dramatic of finishes.
It was a painful experience at the time, but it has helped mould Tarrant.
The former captain is one of the senior statesmen in the team, and with that comes the responsibility of helping shape the next generation.
He is excited by the team the Black Sticks have put together and his advice is for them is to just keep playing in those critical moments.
"We want the young guys to play with freedom and we need to allow them to do that no matter the situation," he said.
"That is one of the lessons from the past.
"You learn a lot from your losses and hopefully we can use that in the future."
The Black Sticks have been drawn in group B with Belgium, India, Australia, Argentina and Ireland.
They will likely need to win at least two of their five games to progress to the quarterfinals and that will not be easy.
They fell short in Tokyo and were a minute way from reaching the medal round in Rio.
"I think our Rio team was a really good hockey team, and I thought we had enough to do reasonably well in Tokyo, but we didn’t really. This team feels like it has a good mix, but we have to put it on the pitch.
"It has been an interesting last 12 months. We’ve actually played teams outside of the top eight and I think it has been good for us in terms of building connections and playing flowing hockey and winning.
"But there is going to be a test in how we defend against these top teams.
"It is a lot of hockey in a short amount of time.
"But the thing is we can beat any of those teams on our day, so it is about turning up and making sure we have a good game plan for each match and executing it as a group."
Tarrant, who is based in Auckland, is in the twilight of his career, but still has a burning ambition he shares with Russell and Inglis.
They have pushed, inspired and competed with each other to bring out the best in themselves all for one goal.
"It would be pretty cool if we came back with a medal around our necks, to be honest," Tarrant said.
"That’s what we want. That’s what we want pretty badly.
"I’m pretty sure this will be the last one. I’m 34 and it has taken a lot to get the body to where I want it to be for this one.
"I’m really happy with where I’m at, but it has taken a lot to get here."
