Former Fiji rugby star happy to be back on the track
John Salvado |
Former rugby star Heleina Young is embracing a mentoring role with young Fijian athletes and has an eye firmly on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after returning to her first sporting love.
The 25-year-old showed signs of brilliance as a flying winger with the Queensland Reds in the SuperW competition and in the Fijian sevens rugby program.
But after one too many injuries she made the decision last year to return to sprinting.
After undergoing stomach surgery in December, Young made her comeback to the elite level of track and field at the Oceania championships in Darwin this week.
She was pleasantly surprised to qualify for the 100m final on Tuesday, where she finished seventh in 11.83 seconds behind flying Kiwi winner Zoe Hobbs (11.00).
“I know it’s not a great thing to say but I didn’t really have any expectations for myself coming into this comp,” Young told AAP.
“I haven’t competed in the 100m at a high level in about seven years.
“So I just thought, come out here, see what I can run and I have surprised myself and made the final.
“That’s good enough for me for my first comp back as a 100m sprinter.”
Young is grateful for the experiences she had in rugby and the lessons learned on and off the pitch.
But coming back to the track just felt right.
“What brought me back to athletics was the fact that back home we didn’t have a lot of senior athletes,” she said.
“Most of our athletes were really young kids and I thought me coming back would help influence the younger generation to pick up the sport from a younger age.
“And for those already in it, to help them stay in the sport because we tend to lose them during their career.
“That was pretty much my main driver for coming back to the sport – not so much for me.
“But it’s definitely for me too now.”
Young will contest the 100m at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in late July.
She is one of five Fijians – and the only one one from track and field – on the International Olympic Committee’s Solidarity scholarship program which provides funding to assist with travel, physiotherapy, physical wellbeing and the like.
“It’s all the things needed for me to hopefully make it to the LA Olympics,” she said.
“Fingers crossed. That’s my goal.”
AAP