Olympic gold medallist Nina Kennedy declared sport was "brutal" after being forced to pull out of the upcoming world championships due to another leg injury.
Having overcome several hamstring injuries to make the team for next month's event in Tokyo, Kennedy, who won gold in the pole vault at the Paris Olympics, made the emotional revelation on social media.
Kennedy suffered the injury in one of her final training sessions before leaving for overseas.
"not the news I wanted to be sharing. I've strained a muscle in my leg in out of my last sessions before world's," she posted.
"I'm sad to say I'll be withdrawing from the World Championships.
"Even though I am disappointed, I'm proud of myself for trying to get back and put myself in the best position to jump high at worlds.
"I can genuinely say I did everything I could, I gave it a red-hot crack and that in itself is a measure of success.
"Sport can be brutal, but injuries are just a part of the journey, and that's OK.
Kennedy had surgery five months ago to repair a hamstring that had been ripped three times in six weeks.
But she had worked her way back to be included in the record 88-strong Australian team for the world titles, before this latest setback.