THOMAS WHALAN TO BE INDUCTED INTO WPA HALL OF FAME

In the countdown to the 2023 Water Polo Australia (WPA) Annual Awards, WPA is pleased to unveil the Hall of Fame inductees for 2021 and 2023.

CLICK HERE to get your tickets to the 2023 Water Polo Australia Annual Awards, that will include presentation of the Hall of Fame inductees.

The Water Polo Australia Hall of Fame recognises those individuals who have made an exceptional contribution over an extended period of time to water polo as a player, administrator, coach, referee or in another capacity.

Four-time Olympian Thomas Whalan will be inducted into the Water Polo Australia (WPA) Hall of Fame.

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.

Internationally, Thomas played in the Spanish League with CN Barcelona between 2001-02 where they won silver. He was the highest goal scorer in the Spanish League that year and his club won the Copa Del Rey Kings Cup.

In 2002-03, Thomas moved to Club Atletic Barceloneta where the team won the Copa Del Rey Kings Cup and finished second overall in the Spanish League. From there, Whalan moved to the Italian League where he played with SS Nervi in 2005-06 and RN Sanova from 2006-09.

In 2009, Whalan returned to Club Atletic Barceloneta and this time the team won both the Copa Del Rey and Spanish League. The team also finished as quarter-finalists in the prestigious Champions League.