The Clyde cyclist was back in town yesterday, visiting Clyde Primary School with her silver medal in tow.
As her medal was passed through eager hands, Shields said it was great to see it at her old school.
"This is what it’s for."
Shields and team members Ally Wollaston, Bryony Botha and Emily Shearman claimed silver in the women’s team pursuit at the Paris Olympics in August.
She was the second Central Otago competitor to win a medal after Alexandra’s Finn Butcher grabbed gold in the kayak cross.
The school welcomed her with a haka and she spoke to pupils about her journey to Paris before answering their questions.
She and her team-mates had all taken different paths to Paris but "came together at the 11th hour", Shields said.
She had struggled with Long Covid and chronic fatigue in past years and, at some points, thought she would never ride at a professional level again.
"It’s special to be back racing and living life," she said.
"Everything else is just a bonus, really."
Pupils asked about her time in Paris, the technicalities of pursuit cycling and growing up in Central Otago.
"[I] definitely haven’t had the smoothest or easiest pathways to where I am at the moment but that’s just part of it," Shields said.
"I just kept riding my bike, really ... it’s a great way to see New Zealand and the world."
She was "undecided" about returning for the next Olympics but, after her Olympic final, she could have been persuaded.
"[I thought] ‘I could do that again’."
Shields will visit other local schools in coming weeks and will ride in the Grand Parade at the Alexandra Blossom Festival this weekend.
