Kate Hooper

1978 -

Kate Hooper won a gold medal for Australia in women’s water polo at Sydney 2000. Hooper, from Western Australia, was one of the younger team members, aged 22. The centre forward made the leap to the senior team after an outstanding international junior career. The Aussie team responded wonderfully to the fervent hometown support in Sydney. It won four of its five preliminary round games, then scored two goals in the final 90 seconds of its semi-final against Russia to win 7-6. The gold medal final was even more dramatic, with the team beating the United States 4-3 on a goal with 1.3 seconds remaining. It was the first time women’s water polo had been played at an Olympics.