Deborah Kathleen Watson (born 28 September 1965 in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

) is an Australian former

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

player. She is one of the greatest female water polo players to ever play the game. She won gold medals at the

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in Sydney and the

1986 World Aquatics Championships The 1986 World Aquatics Championships took place in M86 Swimming Center in Madrid, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (L ...

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Early life

Watson was born in

. She played

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

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 The 1983 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup was the fourth edition of the event, organised by the world's governing body in aquatics, the International Swimming Federation (FINA). The event took place in Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada Canada ...

in Sainte-Foy,

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, 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

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. At 20 years old, Watson was part of the team that won

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

at the

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. She went on to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

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

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in 1991. Watson retired in 1996 at age of 30. But in 1997, when the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

added women's water polo to the Olympic program in 2000, She jumped back into the pool. By defeating the

4-3 in the final, home team Australia won the first

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

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 The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

. In 2009, she was inducted into the

Water Polo Australia Hall of Fame The Water Polo Australia Hall of Fame, located in Sydney, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring players, coaches and officials who have contributed greatly to the game of water polo in Australia. It was established in 2009 by Water Polo Australia, ...

Other event

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

Honors

Olympic Games

* Gold (1): 2020

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

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Debbie 1965 births Living people Water polo players from Sydney Sportswomen from New South Wales Australian female water polo players Water polo players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Australia in water polo World Aquatics Championships medalists in water polo Australian water polo coaches Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees University of Sydney alumni