At just 17 years old, Bendere Oboya is already Australia's third fastest woman over 400 metres and is now targeting higher honours after winning two gold medals at July's Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas.
"It would mean a lot [to represent Australia at the Commonwealth Games]," Oboya said. "Just to be there, I would be like wow, I've got this far."
Her coach, American Greg Smith, started coaching Oboya last year and has seen significant improvement in the 17-year-old, who bettered her personal best time by three seconds in 2017.
Smith believes that she can go even faster once she improves her start and strength.
"She's still a baby in those areas," Smith said. "She has potential to go even faster in this event [400 metres]."
Oboya was three-years-old when she arrived in Australia along with her parents and five siblings.
"My Mum has actually talked about going back to Ethiopia but I don't think she'll let me go back," Oboya said.
"Apparently right now, it's not really safe, so it's best to stay here."
