THOMAS WHALAN AWARDED LIFE MEMBERSHIP OF WATER POLO AUSTRALIA

Water Polo Australia (WPA) is pleased to announce that four-time Olympian Thomas Whalan has been awarded Life Membership of WPA.

Whalan’s contribution to water polo in Australia is distinguished and extraordinary, his involvement spanning many roles including player, coach, and administrator. 

A long-time servant of the sport, Whalan’s contribution to water polo in Australia spanned beyond the pool deck and into the boardroom. Whalan was a member of the WPA Athletes Commission between 2004-2012 and was its Chairman from 2008. He became a WPA director in 2012 and served as President from 2017-2019.

Whalan’s illustrious playing career saw him represent Australia at the Olympic Games in Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012, one of a very elite group of athletes to represent Australia at four Olympic Games. He was the team’s vice-captain in Athens and assumed the captaincy for the next two Olympiads.  

In total, Whalan earned 316 caps for Australia, of which 82 were as captain. He played at five World Championships (Fukuoka 2001, Barcelona 2003, Montreal 2005, Melbourne 2007 and Rome 2009), the FINA World Cup in Sydney in 1999 and 10 FINA World League tournaments between 2003-2012.  Whalan’s medal haul during this time included silver at the FINA Junior Men’s World Championships in Kuwait in 1999 and bronze medals at the FINA Men’s World League Final in Berlin 2007 and Genoa 2008.

Whalan led the Sydney University Lions to three national titles in 2002, 2003 and 2005 from seven grand final appearances. He steered the club to eight first grade NSW premierships from 2000 until his retirement in 2012.

Following his playing career, Thomas joined the WPA Board as a Director in 2012, before being elected President in 2017. Thomas stepped down from his role in 2020, but continued to be involved in water polo, and give back to the sport.

He currently serves as a member of Water Polo Australia’s Foundation Committee, responsible for providing recommendations to the Board on matters relating to the raising of funds through the WPA Foundation projects and the allocation of raised funds.

Thomas has always been known to give his time and share his knowledge and experience as an athlete to  drive better offerings for today’s aspiring future Olympians.  

In early 2023, Thomas was also inducted into the Water Polo Australia Hall of Fame, at the Annual Awards night.

Water Polo Australia would like to congratulate Thomas on his Life Membership.