Bronwen Knox

Fast Facts

Sport: Water Polo 
Event: Women
Olympic History: Beijing 2008 (Bronze), London 2012 (Bronze), Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020
Year Born: 1986
State Born: Brisbane, QLD

About Bronwen

Bronwen Knox was in the stands at the Sydney 2000 Olympics with her family, who had travelled down from Brisbane to the Games to watch as many sports as they could. At that time Bronwen had only played a couple of games of water polo and watched the Australian women's water polo team that would go on to win Olympic gold at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.

“I just remember never sitting down the whole game. I was just enthralled by the grace, the beauty, the speed, the agility and strength.

She said "that’s what I want to do," so the 14-year-old returned home and joined a club.

Bronwen made her Australian debut against New Zealand in a Test match in Canberra in 2005, and since then has amassed more than 390 caps for the Stingers.

A seasoned campaigner, Bronwen’s intelligence for the game and ability to thrive under pressure led her to become the first Australian woman to make the Olympic water polo team four times.

“There’s a special bond you form as a team, whether or not you’re friends, you have mutual respect for each other,” she said.

“You know everyone has gone through these gruelling training sessions to get there. You just look in your teammates’ eyes and you know that no-one can beat us – we are unbreakable.”

The Queenslander had a stellar Olympic debut in Beijing, scoring 12 goals to be the third-leading goalscorer in the tournament. This haul included three goals in Australia’s thrilling 12-11 bronze medal victory over Hungary.

The center-back almost considered ending her water polo career after she fractured her collarbone at the Rio 2016 test event in November 2015 (where Australia won gold). However, she was determined to continue competing, with her heart set on the elusive Olympic gold.

Bronwen led the women’s water polo side at her third Olympic campaign at the Rio 2016 Games, after winning bronze medals for Australia in 2008 and 2012.

The Aussies kicked started their Rio campaign with a strong, dominant 14-4 win over Russia. Their second pool match proved to be more of a challenge with the green and gold side narrowly going down to Italy 7-8 despite the scores being tied until the final seconds.

The Aussies then powered home to take a decisive 10-3 win over hosts Brazil in the final pool game, setting up a quarter-final clash against Hungary. In a physical, tense, and ultimately heartbreaking encounter the Australians lost in a penalty shootout after scores were level, 8-8, after four quarters, ending their 2016 Olympic campaign.

Out of the pool, Bronwen is passionate about furthering her education and has a number of qualifications under her belt, including a Bachelor of Biomedical Science, a Graduate Diploma in Public Health (Emergency and Disaster Management) and a Bachelor of Law (Honours).

Bronwen made her fourth Olympic appearance at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games. The Stingers impressed in the group stage at the Olympics, finishing equal first on points and advancing to the knockout stage of the tournament in second place. The Aussies faced the Russian Olympic Committee and were deadlocked at 8-8 before narrowly losing in heartbreaking fashion 9-8.

The squad did go on to finish the Olympics with consecutive wins against Canada and the Netherlands, earning them 5th place overall in Japan.