Meet the Canberra-based Olympic handball player making history in Spain
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When Brianna Keyes was a teenager, handball was her entire world. Little did she know that years later she would be making sporting history.
Falling in love with handball at the age of 16, Brianna’s career saw her travelling the world, competing at the Youth Olympics and the Indoor Handball World Championships to represent Australia on a national stage. But everything changed when she experienced a severe ankle injury, followed by two failed corrective surgeries.
Brianna was barely able to walk on her ankle, and instead of passing, dribbling, and throwing the ball with her team, she was sent to the sidelines. She thought she would never play handball again – but everything changed after she received her disability diagnosis and was introduced to wheelchair handball.
Currently in Granollers, Spain, for the Wheelchair Handball World Championship, Brianna believes she is the first athlete to participate in both the indoor and wheelchair handball world championships – a historic moment for the sport.
It’s something she doesn’t take for granted.
“I’m so incredibly grateful to be representing Australia again and this time round it feels so special,” she says.
“I used to take the honour a bit for granted, but since my forced retirement from able-bodied, I have really been able to reflect, and I feel very proud of this achievement. I’ve trained and worked so hard for this.”
Describing wheelchair handball as a blend of “wheelchair basketball, AFL and rugby league”, Brianna says that the transition to wheelchair handball after her injury felt like a perfect fit.
“There is often a misconception that you need to be in a wheelchair to play wheelchair sport. I don’t use a day chair,” she explains.
“As I had extensive experience playing able-bodied handball for Australia, it was the perfect transition for me. When I saw it was an option, I jumped at the chance to get out on the court again with the sport I love.”
Brianna says being able to once again play against the best in the world will be “incredible.” It’s also a milestone moment with Australia making history in Granollers as the first Oceania nation to compete at the IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship.
“I’m really excited to be wearing the green and gold and have my two-year-old cheering on the sidelines. Being a mum changes things, and there have been a lot of sacrifices and load on my husband with training and travel,” she says.
“I’m really proud of myself being two years post-partum and getting back to the top of my sport.”
This is just the beginning of Brianna’s goals for this new chapter in her handball career.
With the Brisbane 2032 Paralympics just around the corner, she’s also pushing to have wheelchair handball officially included in the 2032 Brisbane Paralympics. And while handball has been an Olympic sport for 90 years – and has approximately 30 million registered players and 800,000 teams worldwide – it remains a relatively little-known sport in Australia.
“Courts are often a challenge for us. A handball court is the size of two basketball courts next to each other so finding courts and the cost can be a tricky thing to do in Australia,” explains Brianna.
“But mostly it’s exposure and lack of grassroots programs. This is changing with funding for Brisbane 2032; we have programs to help increase awareness and opportunities for young players in Canberra. Once people watch a game or play, they are hooked on our wonderful sport.”
Brianna says that Canberra’s small handball community has been growing for the last 20 years. She hopes that by sharing her story, she will encourage more people to both watch and play the game.
“The Canberra Handball community is very passionate. With Brisbane 2032 coming up, there is a big push for new players,” she says.
“If you want to give Handball a go, reach out on Instagram. We are also putting together an ACT wheelchair Handball team for Nationals in October and looking for athletes from similar wheelchair sports looking for a change.”
Brianna will be competing in Spain from Wednesday 16 until Monday 21 September, with games broadcast on the International Handball Federation YouTube page and Wheelchair Handball Australia Instagram page. To support Brianna on her journey, you can donate to her here.
For more information about handball, visit handballaustralia.org.au.
Photography: Canberra Handball.
