Sergeant Darcy Kay exceeded even her own expectations when she won a gold and a bronze medal in weightlifting at the Pacific Games in Honiara.
"I wouldn't say I was expecting it. I know whenever I travel or whenever I compete I'm hopeful that I'll return with a couple of medals, but no it was it was a surprise to get those and I'm super happy with my performance at the end of the day."
Sergeant Kay - who is originally from Ouyen but now living in Brisbane where she is posted at the Gallipoli barracks with the Australian Army - discussed her humble beginnings in country Victoria where footy and netball rule, and how she got into weightlifting.
"I definitely grew up playing netball and going to the footy every Saturday."
"There was no gym in Ouyen while I was growing up, so I'd never really stepped into a gym until I joined the army at 18. So that was my first real exposure to any sort of physical training outside of sports like netball and footy, because that's huge in Ouyen. But that was my first real exposure, and then I transferred into physical training in the army and then from there was exposed to weightlifting."
When asked how and why she joined the army, Sergeant Kay outlined how that decision kickstarted her successful athletic career.
"I joined the army and I thought it was going to be a short little stint, signed the dotted line, and as soon as I got there I loved it. The routine was really good, it was really stable. I moved around the country, moved overseas, I did all these incredible things. And then I fell in love with PT as well, and they've been so supportive for me as an athlete that I just couldn't imagine my life turning out this way. It was probably the best thing I ever did when I was 18."
Sergeant Kay now has her sights set on next year's Commonwealth Games, which she is approaching with a positive attitude based on hard work and commitment to her craft.
"All I'm going to do is put my head down and train as hard as I can and hopefully snag a spot to the Commonwealth Games. If I don't, it's not going to be because I didn't put in 100%, so that's all I can do."