A sprained ankle was not enough to keep javelin thrower Brittni Wolczyk from making Team Canada at the North American Youth Olympic Trials in Florida last spring.
Now the Port Coquitlam athlete will get the chance to see how she performs with two healthy feet when she takes on competitors from around the world at the Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China next week.
The 16-year-old Archbishop Carney secondary student said she was excited and nervous about competing on the biggest stage of her young career.
"I really didn't think I would make [the team]," she said in an interview before the trip. "When we heard I made it I was freaking out."
Wolczyk placed second at the time trials, throwing 48.02 m to secure her spot at the Youth Olympics, one of four
available in the entire Western Hemisphere.
Her throw in Florida was a personal best, and now that her ankle has healed she believes she can put up an even bigger number.
"I am hoping to move up from where I am right now," she said. "Now that I have had the whole summer to grow and develop, I think it will be a lot better."
This will not be Wolczyk's first time competing at the international level. Last year, she attended the World Youth Track and Field Championship in Donetsk, Ukraine.
But she said the event in China next week will be her toughest challenge yet.
Wolczyk has always loved track and field sports but over the years she has focused her efforts on javelin, an event she has always excelled at.
"I just sort of started dropping the jumps and the runs and stuck with the throws," she said. "I enjoy javelin the most."
Wolczyk's mother Nadia said the life of a javelin thrower can be lonely at times.
The off-seasons are long and there are only limited opportunities for her to compare herself to other athletes and gauge her progress.
"She worked so hard in the off-season and then to sprain her ankle in March in a soccer game, we thought there would be no way she could pull this off in Florida," Nadia said. "She had less than a month to let the ankle heal. She is an amazing girl."
The Summer Youth Olympics take place between Aug. 16 and Aug. 28 in Nanjing, China. For more information and to track results go to www.nanjing2014.org.
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