Enigmatic high jumper Eleanor Patterson has rediscovered her love for athletics and set her sights on making a real mark at the Tokyo Olympics.
The 23-year-old has moved from country Victoria to Sydney and is now being coached by Alex Stewart, who also mentors Australia's best men's high jumper Brandon Starc.
Patterson made a low-key return to international competition in Ireland last week and is next scheduled to jump in Rovoreto, Italy, on Tuesday.
Were she to clear 1.94m, Patterson would be selected to compete alongside countrywoman Nicola McDermott at the world championships in Doha beginning in late September.
But a more likely target is the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Patterson looked to have the track and field world at her feet when she soared over 1.94m to claim gold at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games as an 18-year-old.
A year earlier she had set her personal best of 1.96m - the best clearance ever by a female jumper anywhere in the world at youth level.
But in the years after the Glasgow triumph the relationship with Athletics Australia (AA) began to sour, with Patterson declining funding from the national body.
She insisted on continuing to be based in her Victorian home town of Leongatha, under the tutelage of childhood coach Dave Green.
The situation unravelled further when Patterson bombed out in the qualifying round at the Rio Olympics, departing the stadium in tears.
She did not even make the Australian team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, raising fears she could be lost to the sport altogether.
But the situation has turned around in recent months, with Patterson joining 2018 men's Commonwealth Games champion Starc in Stewart's Sydney-based squad.
She is again receiving some funding from AA and is also being supported by the NSW Institute of Sport.
AA head of performance and coaching Christian Malcolm said it was great to have Patterson back in action.
"The long-term aim is Tokyo but it's also about Eleanor finding her feet again this season, getting a good conditioning phase in and then getting ready for the domestic season," he told AAP.
"Then hopefully on to the Tokyo Olympics.
"You see this with a lot of young athletes around the world who get a lot of exposure and success at a young age.
"They tend to go through those few years where they have a down patch; even Usain Bolt had that with a bit of a back injury before the Beijing Olympics.
"But once it clicked into place he didn't look back.
"With Eleanor we're hoping she's turned a corner."
Australian Associated Press
