Tokyo Olympics Wrap: Aussie Stingers

The Tokyo Olympic Games weren't the planned results the Aussie Stingers had hoped for, with the squad openly declaring they were going to win a medal.

But while the results weren’t as expected, a solid foundation was presented with seven new debutants stepping up alongside experienced hands, with the Paris Olympic Games only three years away.

After delivering promising wins during the preliminary stages that booked them their spot for the quarter finals, the Aussie Stingers went down by one to Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), putting themselves out of contention for a medal.

Like the Aussie Sharks, the Stingers came into the Olympic Games having not played an international tournament in close to two years… and while the squad wasn’t making excuses, it certainly didn’t provide them with the best preparation.

Opening the campaign strongly against Canada, the Aussie Stingers went on to stage a stunning come from behind win over former Olympic champions the Netherlands.

With two wins under their belt they faced off against European heavy weights Spain, unfortunately recording their first loss, but bounced back to win the final preliminary game convincingly against South Africa.

While the ROC took the win in the quarter finals, the Aussie Stingers were able to finish the Olympics in fifth position after winning the penalty shootout against Canada and notching up a convincing final match win over the Netherlands.

Following the final match Head Coach Predraj Mihailovic reflected on the Tournament, and while the results hadn’t gone the teams’ way, he was proud of how the side stepped up.

“I think we had a hard moment when we lost the quarter final, but as a team we had to bounce back. To bounce back the girls proved… the good character of our team,” he said.

“This was a unique Games…. for 18 months we didn’t have matches, unique that we spent six months together, unique in our preparation, one very very unique experience that we hope we won’t experience again.

“During all this period we showed we are family in our team, which we tried to build and that we are all comfortable to be there, comfortable to push each other and this time spent together was really positive to build that.

“What was shown in the games is that we were physically ready, but unfortunately at some crucial moments we were missing the games,” he said.

Triple Olympian and Captain of the Aussie Stingers, Rowie Webster, said the last 12 months since the delay of the Olympic Games had changed the trajectory she believed the team were on.

“At the time (of the postponement) it was a bit of a shock to realise that we had been ready to go, to pull the trigger and compete but I think the positive element was it never got canceled.

“We always knew the goal posts had just been moved twelve months beyond what we thought they were going to be and not often do you get to look back and relive your last 12 months training and see what you can improve and I do truly believe that we looked back on our 12 months prior besides the international game play which we weren’t able to do with the COVID situation around the world and we trained the house down.

“I think there were a lot of nerves coming into that first game, you get into a routine of how you feel game day, and the nerves and the procedure and that hadn’t been the case for so long and you can attempt to replicate that with training games and the wait between the time you finish your warm up to the time you march out and listen to the anthem… we role played all that but there is nothing quite like standing there singing the anthem for your country in the Olympic uniform, so I think nervous energy got us over the line and the fact that we were fitter than Canada in the end.

“I do think there was a downfall in our quarter final playing a European team that had played numerous amounts of water polo and I think in the clutch situations that rose to the surface and we just weren't as adaptable as we could have potentially been if we had played some international games. I don’t want to use that as an excuse because by no means is it, Russia (ROC) beat us in the quarter finals and then went on to be a contender for the bronze medal... but I think it is hard to play a team sport to make those connections under pressure if you haven’t been put under pressure and that was something I think rose to the surface in the clutch moments,” said Webster.

For Webster, while she celebrated her third Olympic Games, it was her first as Captain, an honour she didn’t fully appreciate until leading her side out in game one.

“It was amazing. I think being vice-captain in Rio and having such a great relationship with Bron Knox who was captain at the time, I thought I knew what to expect but I was so wrong.

“It was so much better than I ever expected, walking out and leading this group of females who are empowering the next generation of athletes and are the role models for the next group.

“I will be forever grateful and I think I can sit here and be disappointed in our result however, something I can’t be disappointed with is the work and the effort that this group went too and to be the Captain of that ship I think is a real privilege and that will stay with me the rest of my life,” she said.

Like all her teammates around her, Webster said the support from home, given there were no spectators on the ground, was nothing short of amazing.

“More than ever, the support from back home was incredible. The amount of schools and young aspiring water polo players that reached out to us and said you guys are our heroes we want to be just like you and the home videos of kids in the bath saying I want to shoot like Bronte Halligan, Bron Knox or Hannah Buckling… it was beautiful and we are grateful for all the support.

“The Japanese people have been constantly waving to us on the bus when we go to training and the little kids making signs of good luck and the school children planting plants… it is the power of the people that made this Olympics happen and we are so grateful that we have had the help of all the Japanese and the community.

“Thank you everyone for the support, we really felt it back home. We didn’t come away with the result we wanted but I think that is the power of the Olympics… it is about the journey as much as it is the destination.”