Anabelle Smith

Triple Olympian Anabelle Smith was introduced to the sport of diving at 11 years old. Growing up as a sporty and athletic kid, Anabelle always knew she wanted to represent Australia at an Olympic Games.

While at first she was unsure what sport would take her all the way, the challenge and uniqueness of diving kept her inspired and always striving for more. By the age of 14, Anabelle was spending up to 30 hours a week training in her pursuit of diving excellence.

After her admission into the Victorian Institute of Sport in 2008, Anabelle was awarded the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship Award to the first tier. She received funding for competition and mentoring from Debbie Watson OAM, whose support she attributed to much of her junior success, which includes the Pierre de Coubertin award and two bronze medals at the Junior World Championships.

While completing her final year of high school, Anabelle was selected to the Australian Diving Team for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. At 17-years-old she made her debut in the 10m synchronised platform alongside Briony Cole, placing third overall, behind the other Australian duo Melissa Wu and Alexandra Croak, and Malaysia’s Pamg and Yee. She also competed in the 3m springboard and 10m platform, placing 4th and 7th overall.

After partnering with Sharleen Stratton in 2011, the pair won the 2012 nomination trials to secure a berth for Australia in the 3m synchronised diving at the London 2012 Olympic Games. At just 19 years old Anabelle realised her childhood dream and made her Olympic debut in London where she finished fifth.

Two years later she made her second Commonwealth Games appearance at Glasgow 2014, producing a bronze medal in the women’s 3m synchronised springboard alongside long-time partner Maddison Keeney.

Anabelle was selected again to represent Australia at Rio 2016 in the 3m synchronised springboard, alongside a 20-year-old Maddi, making them the youngest competitors in the field. The duo claimed Australia’s fifth medal of the Rio 2016 Games in the 3m synchronised springboard event, finishing on 299.19 points behind China and Italy.

The Olympic bronze medallist went on to compete at her third Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in 2018, finishing in third place in the women’s 1m springboard.

In 2019, she was second overall in the Diving World Series and was rightfully named Diving Victoria’s Athlete of the Year.

Anabelle has served as a member of the Australian Institute of Sport Athlete Advisory Committee and the Olympians Club of Victoria Board, representing fellow athletes and advising for their overall wellbeing.

At the 2021 Australian Open Championships, which also doubled as Australia’s Olympic qualifying event, she proved she was one of Australia’s best talents in diving when she qualified for her third Australian Olympic Team in the women’s synchronised 3m springboard.

Anabelle advanced to the semi-final in Tokyo and needed a top-12 finish to make the final, but ultimately finished the competition in 14th position.

At her fourth Commonwealth Games, in Birmingham in 2022, Anabelle again teamed up with Maddi to win gold in the synchronised 3m springboard event.

The pair won bronze in the same event at the World Championships in Budapest in 2022 and in 2024 they upgraded it to silver, securing a quota spot for the Paris Olympics.

For Anabelle it was a third world championship medal, 13 years after she won her first as a teenager in Shanghai in 2011.

In 2022, Anabelle won the Sarah Tait Spirit Award, presented to the athlete who most encompasses the spirit of the Victorian Institute of Sport. The winner must demonstrate courage, commitment and persistence to achieve their sporting goals, while showing the ability to inspire and bring out the best in others.

Following the World Championships, the Paris 2024 women’s synchronised 3m springboard pair won gold twice at the Diving World Cup Super Final in China and at the Paris 2024 Olympic Test Event in May.

Her fourth Olympic Games started the day after the Opening Ceremony and she missed out on a medal in heart-breaking fashion.

Heading into the final round, Maddi and Anabelle were in third place and needed only 0.84 more points than American duo Kassidy Cook and Sarah Bacon to move into the silver medal position, but Anabelle's slip on their fifth dive (the forward 2½ somersaults with 1 twist) sent her off course. She did remarkably well to complete the dive, which gave them a final round score of 48.60 to drop to fifth place.

Anabelle has a degree in exercise and sports science from the Australian Catholic University. In September 2024 she was elected to the Australian Olympic Committee's Athletes' Commission.