Canberra teenager powerlifter Mikaela Warylo says the juggle of 4.30am starts, school studies and working part-time will all be worth it when her "dream comes true" and she takes on the best in the world.
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But she says she needs to raise $6000 to help fund her trip to the world classic junior powerlifting championships in Malta later this year.
Warylo has surprised everyone, even herself, with her rapid rise through the ranks after taking up the sport by chance two years ago.
The 17-year-old was coaxed into having a go at lifting when she started going to the gym with a family friend, and now she's an Australian record holder after squatting 151 kilograms at an event this year.
"At first when I started, I was never really expecting to go this far and then my coach pointed out that I actually have got talent," Warylo said.
Warylo, the St Mary MacKillop College student, has a packed schedule most days. The same friend who got her into powerlifting picks her up at 4.30am for training at the House of Reps gym, before she goes to school for Year 12 studies.
When she finishes there, she works at her casual job to save money for the world champs and in the spare moments she's trying to raise money so her dad, Michael, can join her on the trip to Malta in August.
Warylo has high hopes of matching the best in the world, and she has an Australian powerlifting icon in her corner to help her get there.
Liz Craven, a world champion and world record holder, has taken Warylo under her wing.
"She was really the first person I took inspiration from watching her train," Warylo said.
Warylo won the 84kg national title in the sub junior category when she lifted a combined 366kg for the day.
"Because I placed first and got the qualifying total, I was able to go to nationals. While there, I also came first, and broke the Australian national record for the 84+kgs," Warylo said.
Melissa and Michael say their daughter has never really understood how much talent she has.
"We can't really put into words how proud we are of Mikaela," Michael said.
"When Mikaela qualified and I was in Newcastle, there was a bit of a tear in my eye, and my other child looked at me and said, 'Dad there is something wrong with your eye'."
Melissa adds: "I think it comes down to the community at the gym. They've been nothing but supportive and encouraging of Mikaela.
"When you send your kids off to sport you're not always guaranteed for it to be a good community [but] they're absolutely wonderful."
As a minor Warylo requires a guardian to travel alongside her on her world championship journey, doubling the cost for the family.
"We are scrambling [to raise the money] at the moment," Melissa said.
"We've really just reached out to people we know for donations basically that you know, things people might like to win."
Friends of the Warylo's have been supporting the family through small business donations with raffle tickets. Canberra professional golfer Matt Millar is among those to have contributed, donating a lesson to help raise money.
Melissa will stay in Canberra as her daughter travels across the world, and is hoping a local pub can live stream the event.
"Michael and I work in public service and have a lot of people behind us and supporting us, so it would be nice to find a venue that would be prepared to have their doors open," Melissa said.
"I would love to celebrate that with the community and show Mikaela that we're all behind her."
