Sydney triple jumper Tay-Leiha Clark didn't know she had won a medal at the Youth Olympic Games until she saw her coach pumping the air with his fist.
Her second jump and personal best of 13.06m in Nanjing on Monday gave her the silver medal behind France's Yanis Esmeralda David, who posted 13.33m.
Clark said she felt as though she had done well in her second round, but wasn't sure if it would deliver a medal.
"It felt good. I looked up straight away at my coach and he was just pumping the air so I knew it must have been better," said the 16-year-old.
When David edged ahead of her in the third round with a 13.18m jump, Clark said she did her best to focus on her remaining attempts.
"I was thinking, 'come on Tay, step up your game'," she said.
But her last two attempts failed to break through the 13m mark, while the French athlete went one better with 13.33m, the third longest jump in the world for her age group.
Bronze went to Hungary's Eszter Bajnok, who jumped 13.01m.
The Australian said she didn't know what to expect before the Games but she had proved a lot to herself.
"It was a very good competition for me, so I'm happy," Clark said.
"I've learnt that I am capable of a lot more than I thought I was."
The high school student will be 18 by the time the 2016 Olympics in Rio begin, but says it's too soon to say whether she will be there.
"The Olympics would be awesome, but let's see where I go from here."
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