The 22-year-old javelin thrower has just returned to Dunedin and is looking to get back to her best.
"I’ve been here for a week since coming back from the [United] States and Australia with the New Zealand Paralympic team," she said.
"I was fortunate enough to be invited to their pre-camp and train alongside them to help the javelin throwers prepare."
Peeters, sister of the Southern Steel’s Stacey Peeters, injured her back in February and has spent most of the winter working her way back to full fitness.
The injury had dogged her all last season, but it was not until the week before the national championships that she was diagnosed as having bone damage.
That put an end to her hopes of winning a third consecutive national title.
"It was pretty tough mentally," she said.
"I’m the sort of person who you say ‘have a two week rest’ and after three days I’m bored. So it was very hard for me to be disciplined about that."
She learnt a lot through that, making sure she listened to her body and took one thing at a time.
"Having done that, I can throw now and throw pain-free," she said.
"In Australia and the US the feeling was so unusual and that was just because I haven’t felt what it feels like to have a good throw in so long and to do it pain free, it was pretty good."
Peeters made her return to competition in August, throwing a winning distance of 48.87m at a meet in Brisbane.
While that is well short of her national record of 55.14m, she thinks she is not far off getting back to her best.
Her injury limited how much she had been able to throw, but she has been doing plenty of strength and technical work.
"I’m feeling stronger than I ever have," she said.
"Having my back injury I was able to rest and re-focus on the little things and almost start from scratch. I’ve come a long way since February."
Peeters competed at the World University Games last year and hoped to improve on her placing of sixth, which is her goal for next year.
The Games are in Taiwan next year.
Long-term she hoped to compete on the world’s biggest stage.
"Commonwealths is very much on my radar. Obviously with it just being across the Ditch it would be an awesome opportunity and a great competition."
"There’s a lot of great throwers in the Commonwealth. Even in Australia, there’s a lot of great throwers.
"So to be selected and qualify for a competition like that, it’s all a stepping stone for my ultimate goal of competing in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo."
Her time with the New Zealand Paralympic team had motivated her further to keep striving for that goal.
"It’s pretty inspirational when you can watch them and see how awesome they’re doing, bringing home the medals.
"They were all training so hard and it just shows how deserving they are.
"I can’t wait for them to get back and have a chat to them about their experience. It all just looks so surreal.
"I guess it gives me motivation to keep training so one day I might be where they are, at the Olympics."
At the moment, she was focused on the here and now, though.
She hopes to finish her physical education degree at the University of Otago in next year’s first semester, after having predominantly studied part-time since arriving in Dunedin.
"I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself and just focus on the next couple of months ahead of me and make sure I keep progressing the way I am. The distance will come from that."
- Jeff Cheshire
