Waipukurau athletics whizz Briana Stephenson showed she was well on the road to a full recovery after knee reconstruction, with a return to form at the recent 2018 New Zealand Track and Field Championships in Hamilton.
Still healing 22 months after suffering the severe knee injury, the former New Zealand under-18 athletics representative and NZ Secondary Schools netball midcourter won a silver medal in the under-20 women's long jump in Hamilton with a season's best 5.75m.
Capable of clearing 6m before she ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in a "cruel blow" during a netball game in May, 2016, the 18-year-old followed up with a 5.68m jump to claim bronze in the senior women's event.
No longer able to compete in the high jump because of her knee, the 2016 CHB junior female sportsperson of the year decided to contest the under-20 women's 200m, where she claimed another silver with a personal best of 25.04secs.
She also qualified second fastest for the under-20 women's 100m final but, as the only finalist to have competed in the long jump earlier, a weary Stephenson finished outside the medals in fourth.