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).
