The South Bendigo Athletics Club star struck gold when she hit a mark of 14.24 metres in the open final at the Athletics Australia's national track and field titles in April, 2019 in Sydney.

Berg returns to Sydney's Olympic Park once again after the 2020 titles were shut down by COVID.

In the past 12 months the Swan Hill native and H.H. Hunter Award winner for Athletics Bendigo's Athlete of the Year has made several changes to her routine.

"The most significant is from glide to full rotation,'' she said.

"The change was made about a year ago. It was a joint decision between myself and coach Peter Barrett.

"It was difficult in the early days, but I have just kept working as hard I can on every element of shot put.

"I had been doing rotation in discus, so had a fair idea on what to do."

The change led to a personal best of 14.70 metres with the 4kg shot at the state titles run at Lakeside in Melbourne's Albert Park precinct.

The 20-year-old athlete has also made other changes.

"I started training at a gym in Ballarat and also worked on a nutrition plan," Berg said.

Although there's plenty of hours put in at the athletics track, Berg has also worked on building strength and fitness at PerFit CrossFit in Ballarat.

At her latest meet, Berg achieved a mark of 14.45m to win at the Melbourne Track Classic.

"All is going well in the lead-up to nationals. There is still plenty of work to do."

A qualifying mark of 18.50m for the Tokyo Olympics may not be reached, but Berg believes she can throw further than before.

Her journey to being an elite athlete began as a nine-year-old at school sports in Swan Hill.

"I thought I would have a go at shot put and really enjoyed it.

"From there it was zone finals and then states.

"I have just kept on going and look forward to the challenge of every competition."

A goal is the 2022 Commonwealth Games and then 2024 Paris Olympics.

Away from the shot put circle, Berg is in the second year of a Diploma of Nursing at Victoria University Polytechnic.

Her outstanding feats have earned a nomination for Bendigo's Sports Star of the Year award.

The national titles run from April 12 to 21 and will include a group of 19 talented athletes from Flack Advisory Services Group-backed Athletics Bendigo clubs in action.

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