Kaitlin Shave has always dreamed of being an Olympian. With her dream a reality, the former track star was lost for words.
Shave has always been a standout athlete, initially impressing on the track, taking out the U17 Australian Championship 100m in 2017 with a time of 12.07.
For reference, that's exactly a second outside the current Olympic qualifying standard, let alone for someone still in high school.
Shave moved into ball sports through touch football before finding a home in the Sevens program alongside good mate Bella Nasser.
Stints in South Africa and Japan eventually saw Shave catch the eyes of coach Tim Walsh, who handed her a dream debut season that will culminate in an Olympic berth from July 29.
“It’s hard to put into words. It’s still sinking in that I made the team," Shave told Rugby.com.au
“It’s been a dream since I was very young in primary school so it’s such a surreal feeling
“…Lots and lots of tears but obviously very happy. My mom was down on the weekend when we got told so I raced home after and told her face to face so that was really exciting. I then called my dad so his reaction was priceless."
Shave's match-winning try against France in the Cape Town Final announced the 23-year-old on the world stage but she admits it took longer for her position to feel secure in the highly competitive squad.
“Throughout the whole season after I debuted I was still looking to earn my spot on the team," she explained.
"I still wasn’t going in every week and saying ‘Oh yeah I’m going to get selected’ so I was still trying to work hard and make sure I earned my own spot.
“I don’t think it was really until the very end of the series where I came to that realisation I had made every team for the world series and I’d earned my position there.
“I don’t think I ever really fully knew that I had a spot in the team, I wanted to keep working hard and if it was meant to be, it was meant to be."
Shave's Olympic selection capped off a special week that saw good mate Nat Wright make her Wallaroos debut.
The Queenslander was in the crowd watching Wright's debut against Fijiana before she made the journey to France and explained what the connection meant, after months earlier sharing their dreams together in Japan
“Natty is one of the most genuine girls I’ve ever met and we have a really strong connection. Going over to Japan was really special and getting to share that experience with her was really exciting," Shave added.
“Seeing where she is now and her debut, I’m just so happy and proud of her.
“Having Nat there with me in a country where not a lot of people speak the same language, it’s very special for us and it helped us grow our bond together. We had each other to lean on through the hard times and got to celebrate the good times together so it really helped out connection.”
