Anika Gosling spun and twisted her way into a first international competition representing Australia at the Oceania Athletics Championships and came two medal colours away from jumping on board again, but this time to Paris for this year's Olympic Games.

That is the easy take from skimming over Gosling's discus performance that delivered a bronze medal and included a personal best throw of 51.83 metres.

But the Wadjuk Noongar woman was a lot more realistic of what did happen after she flew back days later from Fiji home to Perth.

Australian gold medallist Taryn Gollshewsky set a new Commonwealth record on her way to the 60.96m best throw to book a ticket to perform in the Stade de France while Oceanian silver medallist, New Zealander Tatiana Kaumoana, also set a personal best of 57.59m to also finish ahead of Gosling.

"That didn't qualify me for Paris," Gosling told the National Indigenous Times.

"The girl that got first, she qualified for Paris.

"I'm not there yet, but that wasn't really my goal."

Look out LA in 2028 – and possibly the 2026 Commonwealth Games wherever it may well be held since the Victorian government pulled out of the hosting rights.

Gosling is running out of opportunities of reaching qualification for the third French Olympiad six weeks away, but that is not a consideration for the affable and humble athlete.

She's still clutching onto that Suva bronze like it was Paris.

"I actually thought I would need to get that PB to medal there," Gosling said.

"I also knew I could get a PB because in training, I have been getting really big throws that would be PBs.

"All I knew was I just had to do it in competition.

"I actually started to believe I could get a medal around the fourth (throw) going into the fifth throw."

The 24-year-old psychology graduate from the University of Western Australia knows where her limits land.

It was only two and a bit months earlier ahead of those Oceania titles that Gosling threw only 47.01m to still claim a win in one of the Athletics West's summer season meets.

And just on one other occasion outside of the recent throw at Suva's National Stadium three meets earlier had Gosling ever gone past the 50-metre mark.

"Probably not (qualifying) this Olympics, but the next Olympics is definitely my goal," she said.

Even at her debut Australian Athletics Championships at Adelaide in April, Gosling had thrown 48.90m in qualifying for the final before two days on falling 1.50m short.

That landed Gosling 8th in the final out of just 10 competitors and an entire 12.13m short of the throw from 31-year-old winner Gollshewsky in the Australian titles.

Gosling was just thrilled to represent Australia and come back from Fiji with bronze.

"It was definitely more of a good experience – I kind of didn't know what to expect," she said.

"I just went out there and threw my best, so it was good."

Gosling was also just the one place away from what would be an unexpected double-medal feat at the Oceania Athletics Championships.

She finished fourth in the shot put, falling centimetres short of a personal best in the process with a 14.02m throw, but realistically falling 1.64m short of another podium spot and four centimetres behind her own personal best.

The respective 3rd and 4th placings matched her finishes in the discus and shot put at the 2021 UniSport Athletics Nationals.

The most recent performances in each of the two field events has Gosling now ranked the world's 205th in the discus and 292nd in the shot put.

Gosling bursting onto the international scene from strong club athlete to progressive state performer should not come as a surprise.

Little Athletics arrived at barely eight years of age for Gosling in the first step towards a long-time devotion to the field events.

Javelin throwing, like her ancestors once did – but on Country – was also up there at one stage before she cleared that and other events just to focus on the discus and the shot put.

"I remembered I got drawn to the throwing as I was pretty strong as a kid and knew I could throw it all far," Gosling said.

"At the first state championships I had and I didn't really know how I'd go because it was the first time, I ended up getting a state gold.

"That's when I kind of knew, 'Yeah, I now quite like this throwing'."

Netball also kept Gosling busy in the winter months throughout her schooling years, but throwing a ball across a court never had the same dedicated appeal.

Now on the cusp of reaching the top echelon of athletics on the one-time IAAF's global circuit awaits where Gosling's peak years are ahead.

"I continued to do it throughout high school and now I have taken it all a fair bit more seriously in the last couple of years," she said.

But the provisional school psychologist that is soon to be registered is also moving to a career away from the glamour of athletics after academically receiving in 2022 the Dr Tracy Westerman Scholarship from the Nyamal pyschologist for Indigenous mental health.

A large part of Gosling's job is to counsel Aboriginal students who board from widespread parts of Western Australia's remote communities.

While Gosling was raised in an inner suburb of Perth, she also has family connections to both Ballardong and Mineng country in the state's Noongar regions of the South West.

"I find it's a really good and it's kind of a rewarding job to have," she said.

"It can be a bit tough, moving and based out of Perth from somewhere else far away.

"So I do help them in that sense, just so they feel comfortable about being there."

Psychology knowledge is also taken out of the classroom and onto the athletics field.

Gosling prides herself on being mentally tough during competition and not being beaten in the mind before facing her discus and shot put rivals.

"I would say it does help you out there," she said.

"It just gives you another perspective on your mental health and your psychology in sport.

"It is different compared to psychology in a real-life setting.

"But for me, it's definitely helpful."

That's the mental. The physical is also covered.

She attributes improving methods with both event's tools to acclaimed Athletics West coach Allana Wignall.

They have been paired together since Gosling was 17 and just out of high school.

"I've noticed a big improvement in my throwing technique-wise with her (Wignall), and there is still a lot more on what we want to work on," Gosling said.

"I'm looking forward to seeing some more technical improvements that I still want to make.

"We also have a good friendship as well, which I think is really important in terms of your coaching relationship."