Krsticevic, 12, won a gold medal in the under 14 shotput ambulant with a percentage rating of 71.28 after throwing a distance of 8.95m.

She also won silver medals in the long jump, 400m, discus and javelin, as well as a bronze in the 200m.

She competed against athletes from countries including New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, USA and the UK.

The youth games were the first of its kind in the Oceania/Asian region and specifically provides national and international standard competition opportunities for Aus- tralia's aspiring athletes.

And if that was not enough, she returned last week from the All Schools Championhips with another gold medal in shotput and a silver medal in the 100m.

There she competed against athletes from public and private schools from across NSW.

Krsticevic suffers brachial flexus, a condition that affects her left shoulder, leaving her with minimal use of the left side of her body.

Twelve months ago she adv- anced her athletics by training by herself in the backyard but has now joined the Kurra- jong Trainng Squad and has been taken under the wing of renowned coach Marilyn Pearson.

While Krsticevic went a long way as it was by herself, it was Pearson who has since moulded her into the finely-tuned athlete that she is today.

The Bede Polding student had only great things to say about her new coach, saying she helped her qualify for the Paralympic Youth games held last month.

"It's a strange feeling because I always get nervous, but I get excited at the same time so there are definitely mixed emotions involved," she said.

"And travelling away to compete is the same because at the beginning I don't want to leave and it's scary being away from my family.

"But when I'm there it's a great opportunity to make new friends and I love that."

Krsticevic is also a competitive swimmer but she said she wanted to focus mainly on her running and athletics events in the lead up to the Paralympic Games in London in 2012.

And now training four days a week, she puts her successes down to her mother, Helen.

Krsticevic's next big competition will be the Nationals on January 9.