Glenbrook athlete Olivia Harris is cementing herself as a double-threat to be reckoned with in competitive sports, once again securing medals in both rowing and netball at National events this year.
Yet while her big dream is to represent Australia in both sports, she has another quieter goal - inspiring young netball players to reach for the top.
"I just remember that used to be me, looking up to some other girl who was doing Premiere League or in the State team, and I was so inspired and wanted to be just like her," she said.
"So I want to be that inspiration for the younger girls."
On March 23, the 17-year-old took home silver in the Under 19s Women's Quadruple Scull event at the Australian Rowing Championships in Sydney.
Then, on April 14, she took home gold with the NSW Under 19s team at the National Netball Championships, triumphing over Queensland in a revenge match after last year's loss.
She's still chasing that elusive back-to-back gold medal performance, but her perspective has changed a bit since the Gazette spoke to her last year.
"I just missed out on that again, but that's okay, that's part of sport. That's part of my pathway. I'm so fortunate to be getting on the podium for both my sports, which I love," Harris said.
"It doesn't have to be gold, I'm really happy where I am and I'm so happy to be podiuming for both."
Having shifted from the Under 17s bracket to Under 19s this year, Harris is managing her two athletic pursuits alongside her HSC, university applications, and extracurricular activities.
On top of the NSW State team (until April), Harris is contracted with GIANTS Netball Academy and as a player for the North Shore United Opens team in the Premier League. This amounts to at least six training sessions a week, along with competitions.
While the workload sounds daunting, Harris sees it as more of a unique strength.
"Rowing helps my strength and my fitness, as well as on the mental side; my focus, my determination. You have to push yourself through the pain. And then I can just translate that over to netball," she said.
"It is hard, but they both sort of help each other. Being a dual-sports athlete, it just makes you a more holistic athlete, I think."
In the immediate future Harris is focused on training, her studies, and taking on new opportunities to compete, with a much bigger long-term goal on the horizon.
"My dream is absolutely to represent my country in both sports. So I'm definitely dreaming of the Olympics, and I'm dreaming of the Netball World Cup and Commonwealth Games for netball as well," she said.
Yet despite her lofty goals and heavy workload, she also still makes time to volunteer at netball clinics to pass skills onto aspiring young netball players.
"I just like to help out where I can and do my part... being a role model for them, like the girls now in SSM [Suncorp Super Netball] were a role model for me," she said.
"That's why I do it, because I love it and because it inspires other people."
