Rio Olympic Games: Australian Rugby 7s star Ellia Green’s fast feet racing her towards a golden destiny

ELLIA Green, a fine track sprinter, always had an Olympic dream. But it changed when she was snapped up at on a Rugby 7s talent identification day in 2012.

AS a three year old she ran through paddocks on her family farm in Yay laughing that her older brother couldn’t catch her.

On school sports days she blissfully sped past the other little girls. So far in front she’d wave to her mum Yolanta in the crowd and giggle her way over the finishing line.

And today, she is arguably the fastest woman in Rugby Sevens, if she gets going with the ball no-one can catch her.

And if Ellia Green has her way, no one will be able to stop her from chasing her Olympic dream of gold.

But her road to Rio wasn’t supposed to take this route. The talented sprinter’s track dream was turned on its head when she was snapped up at on a Rugby Sevens talent identification day in 2012.

“I turned up that day and I wasn’t that interested,” Green says. “I was focusing on my running, I went with my cousin who was more interested than me, we were late, we were running on Fijian time”.

Green just had to sprint a few times and the Sevens scouts weren’t going let her slip away. Green was then invited to an Australian camp in Canberra.

On the eve of the camp Green was nervous. Her mum Yolanta had some words of advice. “Just run like there is a big scary dog chasing you,” Yolanta told her. “Run as fast as you can. They won’t catch you so you won’t have to worried about being tackled.”

Green started her career in athletics with Jana Pittman.

That she did. It’s worked ever since. Her speed and an unwavering belief in herself are Green’s secrets to success.

When asked if she always thought she would reach great heights in sport, Green replies without hesitation: “Definitely”.

“I always thought ‘nothing is out of reach’ growing up.”

She scribbled affirmations on pieces of paper and stuck on them on her bedroom walls for years. Some were as blunt as “DON’T EAT SHIT FOOD”. Her mum Yolanta even contributed one for her daughter and stuck it on the back of her bedroom door: “I AM THE GREATEST ATHLETE IN THE WORLD”.

“Everyday that was in my face,” Green says, laughing.

Over the years she’s collected stacks of books, numerous DVDs, watched hours of Olympics on YouTube, swotting up on what it takes to get there.

While her speed is Green’s greatest asset her toughness on the field is now a strength.

A couple of weeks ago against New Zealand, when two of her teeth were all but knocked out in a tackle, she wrenched one tooth out as it hung by a gummy thread. “She is a cave woman,” says her mother Yolanta with a big laugh.

Green works hard in the gym to maintain her explosive sprinting power.

Green has a sunny disposition that would make you think that her life has never been marked by tragedy or sadness. But it has. And these difficult moments have also propelled her to here.

She spent her third birthday at the hospice where her father, motorsport and travel journalist, author and broadcaster Evan Green was dying from cancer. Dressed up in her yellow party dress the family celebrated the best they could.

It’s Evan’s memory that serves a motivation for Green’s Olympic career.

“I always think of him when I am so tired on the field or a stressful situation,” Green says “Sometimes I just look up and think about him watching me play. All the time.”

“He has a huge influence on my life. I read articles about him, watch footage of him, I just know he would be so proud.”

Then there is her mum. Her rock. A tough and joyous soul just like Ellia. Her mum has become mind coach of sorts for Ellia who dishes up positivity and tough love in equal parts.

“She always says to me you can be better than what you are, you can always get better,” Green says, again laughing.

“Even though you are fast, you can be faster.”

Her mum’s loss of her “soulmate”, husband Evan and her second bout of breast cancer recently make Green want to succeed for her.

“All stresses she has gone through in her life makes me want to make her proud all the time,” Green said. “I know how much of a struggle it has been for her at times. I always think if I can do this for her. Then this will be the greatest thing for her. I always want to make her so, so proud.”

Australia’s Rugby Sevens side are one of the favourites for medal honours at Rio.

“I think she is proud.”

Yolanta says she couldn’t be prouder.

“We’ve been through a lot of things together,” Yolanta said. “She’s had some tough moments. We always get through. Have a laugh. Take away she is my daughter but I think she is one of the most beautiful human beings I have ever known. If I were not her mother I would be so thrilled to have her as a friend.”

Green feels blessed to have been adopted or “chosen” by her parents.

“Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I was still in Fiji. I know it is very poor there. They’ve had an unfortunate run with natural disasters. They don’t have an easy life over. However they have a ‘no worries’ kind of life. But the opportunities given by my mum over here is unbelievable.”

Which is why she works so hard. Green is always doing extras to make the team for Rio. “You can be fast, but being fast isn’t enough,” she says. “You need to be good with your feet, you need to be strong. I am a utility player and they use me in the forwards as well. I can play both positions.”

She is always working on her defence. “I have brought my aggression to the game now however I want to also be one of the most dangerous in defence.”

Recently, a Fijian female fan praised her improvement over the last three years in the game and she was left chuffed.

Green, 21, says her ascent in the sport isn’t just about her — it’s about providing inspiration for every other little girl with a dream.

“It’s great to be that role model for the next generation of women and make it known to them that they can do it too. They can be a full time rugby player. It’s not just a guy’s sport now. It can be a career.”

“I see it is important for young girls to know that anyone can do it, if they put their mind to it.”