By Erin Lyons and Amellia Wood
Kiera Austin, or 'Kip', as she's affectionately known by her teammates, felt like the world was against her.
Her 2021 season was shattered into a thousand pieces when she ruptured her ACL.
But that challenging period of her life only made her stronger with the Diamonds shooter confessing when she received the news she had made the Commonwealth Games team she broke down.
"While going through rehab I felt like the world was against me. I definitely had a lot of tears in those early months (after doing my ACL)," she said.
All of those memories that Kip has kept at the back of her mind came "flooding back" when Stacey Marinkovich called to tell her she'd booked her ticket to Birmingham.
"It just seemed like it would take a mountain of effort to get there and I really didn't know if I was going to," she said.
Kip was quick to acknowledge her partner and family were the ones who helped her through that challenging time.
"They were the ones who saw me fresh after surgery and probably saw me at my worst," she said.
So naturally, when she got the good news she called her family first.
"I called all my family in tears. I had that ugly crying face," she joked.
"They're all really stoked for me and really excited as well."
THE COUNTDOWN
Kip remembers the moment she did her knee vividly. It's not something you easily forget.
She recalls the instant pain and that sinking feeling in her stomach.
"I knew that I had done it," Kip said.
"My partner was at the game when it happened. He came into the change room and one of the first things he showed me was how many days it was until the Commonwealth Games.
"It was over 400 days and he was like 'you need a year to play again and you'll be fine'."
Kiera Austin said she broke down when she was given the good news. Another key motivator for Kip is Diamonds teammate Paige Hadley who ruptured her ACL in a Commonwealth Games year but returned the following year and played at the World Cup.
"I had heard that story before I did my knee so when it happened I was like, 'Paige can do it. It's okay, I'll be able to do it too'," she said.
Originally from NSW, Kip played majority of her netball there before she was signed with he GIANTS in 2018.
It wasn't until two years later, in 2020, that she really started playing consistently at the elite level.
She offered a nod to the "incredible netballers" who came before her, including Caitlin Bassett and of course, GIANTS shooter Jo Harten.
Her first Diamonds call up was bittersweet. Kip was elevated to the squad for the Quad Series in England in 2019 after Bassett broke her arm.
"I flew over with 24 hours notice and that was kind of my first taste in the Diamonds squad," she said.
"I was pinching myself the whole time I was there. I didn't play a single minute but I didn't think I was ready.
"The fact that I even just got to warm up with the girls and be included in that squad, was really exciting for me."
Kip finally took to the court dressed in the green and gold at the Constellation Cup last year, and well, the rest is history.
A BEAUTIFUL VIEW
If it wasn't for the early alarm that comes with being a swimmer, Kip may never have taken the netball path.
But Australia can be very thankful that she did.
"I have an older sister and whatever she did, I wanted to do," she said.
The star shooter had a rough 12 months but has made an incredible comeback to make the Commonwealth Games team. "I also played soccer and I used to swim as well. But I ended up being a lot more coordinated with my hands than my feet.
"And I didn't like getting up early for swimming classes.
"Once I started to really commit to netball, I loved playing it. I remember finishing my junior representative (tournaments) and being like, 'what's next'?"
Kip isn't just athletic, and a total sweetheart, she's also incredibly academic having almost finished her medical degree.
"I still don't really know what I want to do but I have a passion for female reproductive health and IVF," she said.
"I have had really close friends through netball who have retired and have had struggles with infertility.
"It's a really common thing for female athletes but I don't think it's spoken about enough. Hopefully I can end up in that field and raise awareness for it and learn more about it as well."
And when asked what advice she would give to her younger self, Kip's answer was heartwarming.
"I would tell a little kid, you're going to ride a lot of waves and you're gonna fall off a lot of them too but you'll always come back and ride that wave again because the view from the top of the wave is beautiful," she said.
But for now, Kip is focused on being "present in the moment".
And that moment, happens to be taking the court for Australia at a Commonwealth Games.
ABOUT KEIRA
Name: Keira Austin
Nickname: Kip
Positions: GA, GS, WA
Game day pump up song: Nice For What - Drake
Game day breakfast: Avocado toast with bacon and scrambled eggs + a cappuccino
