Utah athlete Amy Palmer is in Sydney hoping to bring home a medal in the women's hammer throw. But even before the competition begins, she is turning out to be a big hit down under.

Olympic Specialist Shelly Osterloh tagged along with Amy recently as she managed to train and make friends at the same time.

In a quiet Sydney suburb, Amy Palmer steps on to the field of a neighborhood park. Local children have just finished their own Little League track meet, and are surprised and excited to see a real Olympic athlete.

Their own coach uses the demonstration to teach about the hammer throw-- for women, a sport new to the Olympics and new to the children who only throw discus, javelin and shotput.

"IN THE HAMMER THROW, AS IN THE DISCUS, BALANCE AND SPEED ARE VERY IMPORTANT."

Again and again, Amy winds up, spins, and tosses the heavy balls down the field. Her husband assists in the training.

He says the children are not a distraction, but encouragment.

Rick Palmer/Amy's Husband: "I THINK IT MIGHT ACTUALLY HELP HER FOR THE REAL THING. IT'S GOOD. IT'S EXCITNG. I THINK IT'S NEAT TO BE AROUND ALL THE KIDS. THEY'RE EXCITED."

A girl says of Amy Palmer, "She's a good thrower. Like, I'm thinking of taking up the hammer throw at the moment. So, yeah, it was really cool."

Amy Palmer/ Olympic Athlete: "THEY ARE SO EXCITED. THEY WANT TO KNOW WHERE YOU'RE FROM, WHAT YOU'RE DOING, WHEN YOU'RE COMPETING. THEN THEY WANT AN AUTOGRAPH. AND THEY'VE JUST BEEN WONDERFUL. THE PEOPLE HERE ARE ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL."

The children obviously think the same about Utah's Amy Palmer.

She now has a whole new group of fans cheering for her in the games. And who knows, she may have inspired another young girl to dream of Olympic gold.