Good Sports: Former Bulldog track and field athlete aims to be flag football Olympian

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Last June, Kaja Bins didn't know what flag football was.

"I looked it up, and I was like, that looks fun, why not just go for it," he said.

This June, she's part of the German national team flag football roster.

It was Kaja's track and field background that helped her excel on the football field right away.

"I'm a Heptathlete, so I do 7 events, so I've always done everything," she said.

Skills she's had since she was four years old earned her a full-ride to Fresno State.

"Coach P, he flew out to Germany, to Düsseldorf, to have dinner with my parents to tell me all about Fresno State," she said.

Kaja capped off her five-year career as a Bulldog with a second-place Heptathlon finish at the Mountain West Championship.

Then, it was time to decide her next move.

"When I graduated, the German national team coach reached out to me and asked if I wanted to come to a tryout," she said. "I didn't know them. I didn't even know what flag football was. The thing is, he sold it to me by saying, 'Flag football is going to be Olympic in 2028.'"

Kaja now has the potential to become an Olympian in a sport she learned a year ago.

But if anyone could have that kind of success, her coach, Elon Paige, says it'd be Kaia.

"She goes full 110%," Paige said. "Kaia is one of those athletes - she wants to be great. In every single aspect of her life, she wants to be great."

Elon has trained hundreds of athletes at every level, but Kaja could be his first Olympian.

The flag football world championships this August, which happen to be in Kaja's hometown of Düsseldorf, Germany, is the quickest way to seal a bid for LA 2028.

"If we come in the top 3, that's an automatic qualifier," Bins said.

The sport will debut for the first time on the Olympic stage. Kaia is hoping the visibility shows a new possibility for young athletes.

"There are so many young girls who are starting to play flag football," she said. "It's just like a recommendation - whoever has kids, put them into flag football. I'm really looking forward to what it's going to turn into."

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