Deborah Kathleen Watson OAM (born 28 September 1965 in Sydney) is an Australian former water polo player. She has been regarded as one of the greatest female water polo players to ever play the game.[1] She won gold medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 1986 World Aquatics Championships in Madrid.
| Debbie Watson OAM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Deborah Kathleen "Debbie" Watson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
28 September 1965 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |
 Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 71 kg (157 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Field player | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Handedness | Right | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College(s) | University of Sydney | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1983–2000 |
Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Early life
editWatson was born in Sydney. She played netball before water polo. After doctors advised her to give up land sports for injuries, she joined her school's water polo team.[1]
Career
editIn 1983, Debbie Watson was selected to represent Australia for her great talent in water polo. Her first international appearance was as a 17-year-old at the 1983 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup in Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada, where the Australian team finished in third place.[1]
With the national squad Watson won gold medal at the 1984 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup in Irvine, California, United States. At 20 years old, Watson was part of the team that won gold at the 1986 World Aquatics Championships in Madrid, Spain.
She went on to captain Australia from 1991 to 1996, and was voted best player in the world in 1993.[2] She won the FINA World Cup again in 1995 after finishing in second place at Long Beach, California in 1991.
Watson retired in 1996 at age of 30. But in 1997, when the International Olympic Committee added women's water polo to the Olympic program in 2000, She jumped back into the pool. By defeating the United States 4-3 in the final, home team Australia won the first gold medal in women's water polo at the Sydney Summer Olympics,[3][4] making Watson the first female athlete to win gold in water polo both at the Olympics and at the World Championship. As of 2020, Watson is the second oldest Olympic champion in women's water polo (34 years, 361 days).
In 2006, she became the first female water polo player to make it into the Australian Sports Hall of Fame.[5] In 2008, she became the first female water polo player to be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.[1][6] In 2009, she was inducted into the Water Polo Australia Hall of Fame.[7]
Other event
editWatson competed in the Gladiator Individual Sports Athletes Challenge in 1995.
Honours
editOlympic Games
edit- Gold (1): 2020
World Championship
edit- Gold (1): 1986
Water Polo World Cup
edit- Gold (2): 1984, 1995
- Silver (1): 1991
- Bronze (1): 1983
Hall of Fame
edit- Australian Sports Hall of Fame: 2006
- International Swimming Hall of Fame: 2008
- Water Polo Australia Hall of Fame: 2009
See also
edit- Australia women's Olympic water polo team records and statistics
- List of Olympic champions in women's water polo
- List of Olympic medalists in water polo (women)
- List of world champions in women's water polo
- List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in water polo
- List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Debbie Watson (AUS)". ishof.org. International Swimming Hall of Fame. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
- ^ "Debbie Watson". olympics.com.au. Australian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
- ^ "Official Results Book – 2000 Olympic Games – Water Polo" (pdf). la84.org. International Olympic Committee. 2000. pp. 28, 103. Archived from the original on 8 October 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
- ^ The Compendium: Official Australian Olympic Statistics 1896–2002. Australian Olympic Committee. 2003. p. 205. ISBN 0-7022-3425-7.
- ^ "Aussie in swimming Hall of Fame first". dailytelegraph.com.au. Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
- ^ "Honorees Listed by Category - Water Polo". ishof.org. International Swimming Hall of Fame. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
- ^ "Hall of Fame - Water Polo Australia". waterpoloaustralia.com.au. Water Polo Australia. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
