Pole vault queen Eliza McCartney promises another injury comeback isn't far away.
A surprise Olympic bronze medallist at Rio 2016, McCartney has rarely been fit since, dealing with a variety of frustrating injuries that have derailed her path to stardom.
She held herself together just long enough to grab silver at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, but her bid to qualify for last year's Tokyo Olympics fell short, raising further questions about her future in the event.
Ever the optimist, McCartney, 25, insists her next comeback isn't far away.
"I'm excited to share we seem to have finally worked out how I need to train to overcome the injury challenges I was so susceptible to in recent years and it’s working an absolute treat," she has posted on Instagram.
"I have lost a bit of strength and speed from being unable to train properly for such long periods, so it will take time to get strong enough to be back competing, but I assure you I will be back.
"I haven’t been this healthy in years, and I have so much confidence in my team and the plan."
Next target on the horizon for McCartney would seem to be the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in July/August, although with most of New Zealand's top athletics meetings already done and the national championships scheduled for March 3-6, she may have to venture overseas to qualify.
McCartney set the national record of 4.94m in 2018, but training partner Olivia McTaggart achieved a Commonwealth Games 'A' qualifying performance of 4.60m last month.
