A former Rotorua teenager, written off by one doctor before her birth, is lifting above her weight and is now on track to the Olympics.
Jaydene Nepia, 18, won two gold medals at the National Weightlifting Championships on the weekend in her first year of weightlifting. The 46kg weightlifter is now aiming for selection to next year's Pacific Games, then the 2016 Rio Olympics.
She was born weighing just 1300g (2.9lb) - her mum said one doctor had suggested terminating the pregnancy because she was so small.
What's more remarkable is that Jaydene, a former Selwyn School student, has a rare illness shared by only two other people in New Zealand. Four years ago she was sleeping for up to 20 hours a day, a by-product of what the partial lypodystrophy was doing to her body.
Lypodystrophy is characterised by degenerative conditions of the body's connective tissue. Jaydene has just 6 per cent body fat and produces high amounts of insulin. Her condition is now managed by daily medication.