:Debbie Watson (water polo)

{{Infobox water polo biography

| name = Debbie Watson
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| full_name = Deborah Kathleen "Debbie" Watson

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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1965|9|28|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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| nationality = {{flagcountry|AUS}}

| height = 1.78 m

| weight = 71 kg

| position = Field player

| L/R = Right

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| college = University of Sydney

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| nationalyears1 = 1983–2000

| nationalteam1 = {{wpw|AUS}}

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Deborah Kathleen Watson {{post-nominals|country=AUS|OAM}} (born 28 September 1965) 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. She won gold medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 1986 World Aquatics Championships in Madrid.

Early life

Watson 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.

Career

In 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.

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. 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, 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. In 2008, she became the first female water polo player to be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. In 2009, she was inducted into the Water Polo Australia Hall of Fame.

Other event

Watson competed in the Gladiator Individual Sports Athletes Challenge in 1995.

Honours

=Olympic Games=

Gold (1): 2000

=World Championship=

Gold (1): 1986

=Water Polo World Cup=

Gold (2): 1984, 1995
Silver (1): 1991
Bronze (1): 1983

=Hall of Fame=

Australian Sports Hall of Fame: 2006
International Swimming Hall of Fame: 2008
Water Polo Australia Hall of Fame: 2009

References

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite web|title=Aussie in swimming Hall of Fame first |url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/aussie-in-swimming-hall-of-fame-first/story-e6frexni-1111114250797 |website=dailytelegraph.com.au |publisher=Daily Telegraph |access-date=23 July 2019 }}

{{cite book |title=The Compendium: Official Australian Olympic Statistics 1896–2002 |year=2003 |publisher=Australian Olympic Committee |isbn=0-7022-3425-7 |pages=205 }}

{{cite web|title=Debbie Watson |url=https://www.olympics.com.au/olympians/deborah-watson/ |website=olympics.com.au |publisher=Australian Olympic Committee |access-date=31 October 2020 }}

{{cite web|title=Debbie Watson (AUS) |url=https://ishof.org/debbie-watson-(aus).html |website=ishof.org |publisher=International Swimming Hall of Fame |access-date=31 October 2020 }}

{{cite web|title=Honorees Listed by Category - Water Polo |url=https://ishof.org/water-polo-menu.html |website=ishof.org |publisher=International Swimming Hall of Fame |access-date=31 October 2020 }}

{{cite web|title=Official Results Book – 2000 Olympic Games – Water Polo |url=https://digital.la84.org/digital/api/collection/p17103coll8/id/53061/download |website=la84.org |publisher=International Olympic Committee |date=2000 |format=pdf |pages=28, 103 |access-date=31 October 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008040312/https://digital.la84.org/digital/api/collection/p17103coll8/id/53061/download |archive-date=8 October 2019 }}

{{cite web |title=Hall of Fame - Water Polo Australia |url=https://www.waterpoloaustralia.com.au/about-us/hall-of-fame/ |website=waterpoloaustralia.com.au |publisher=Water Polo Australia |access-date=31 October 2020 }}

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