Ratcliffe's colossal throw punched her ticket to the NCAA finals, to be held in Austin in June.
And as was the case while tearing along behind a boat or taking on the Victorian high country, adrenaline was coursing through her veins on last week's record-breaking day in Jacksonville."I had a lot of adrenaline on that day. I was a little bit nervous ... It's quite a stressful competition. You're trying to make sure you get through to that next level.
She's only represented Australia in senior competition at the Oceania championships of 2019 and 2022, but is burning with hunger as she eyes August's world championships, to be held in Budapest, and the 2024 Paris Olympics. "On that throw it all came together and I knew it did when I released it. I was waiting for the hammer to land in the sector before I celebrated and as soon it did I knew it was good. I waited for that result ... I heard everyone clapping and cheering, and I hadn't actually seen the mark yet, and then when I saw the mark it was just intense happiness. I ran over to my coach and celebrated my moment with my coach and my family ...
"But then ... it's a bit of an outlet to enjoy something that I don't have to be good at. I hold myself to a very high standard academically and athletically. To have something that is ... a lot lower stakes and you can do with friends, with family ... There's no pressure to be good at it. I can be absolutely terrible at it and it doesn't matter."At the age of five, Ratcliffe took up Little Athletics with Doncaster Athletic Club in Melbourne's east.