Seeing the big smiles of the children across Southland is the best part of being a double gold Olympic medallist for Alena Saili.
The Invercargill rugby player was part of the Black Ferns sevens team that won gold in Paris — and she became the only person from Southland to become a double gold medallist.
She won her first Olympic gold for rugby sevens in Tokyo in 2021.
Last week, she returned home to celebrate the achievement, not only with her family but also with her community.
Speaking yesterday with Otago Daily Times, Saili said the whole experience still felt pretty surreal.
"The biggest thing for me is, it hits me when I see the kids or the adults that I can show the medals to.
"And then I get a gauge of how big this actually is and how I can inspire kids, and not just girls but boys as well, to sort of work towards their dream."
Saili had returned to have some days off at home. However, she could not say she has had much rest so far.
She has visited more than 20 schools across the region this week in a bid to inspire the younger generations.
"I just love seeing the kids' faces when I walk in and they see the medals and their smiles get even bigger. So yeah, that's probably the best part of it," she said.
However, Saili said while she was always a sports person, she confessed that competing in the Olympics, was not something that had always crossed her mind.
"People ask ‘Did you always want to be an Olympian?’. And [I say] probably not. It wasn't always at the forefront. Like, at school I didn't think, ‘oh, I'm going to the Olympics’. It sort of just happened and then opportunities sort of popped up for me.
"I think for me it was definitely all about having fun at the start. I just loved playing rugby. I loved scoring tries."
Saili, is preparing to return to Tauranga, which she now calls home, on Tuesday.
She hoped she could represent her country again in the next Olympics, which will be held in 2028 in Los Angeles.
But it did not matter where Saili was — she took her family and her roots everywhere she went, she said.
"I know my family is here, this is my family house, so I love coming back here.
"When I come home I'm never ‘Alena the Olympian’ at home. I am ‘Alena, go do the chores or go cook dinner’.
"So that's definitely what kept me humble and kept me the way I am."
