Danijela Jackovich

Danijela Jackovich hails from Chicago, Illinois, where she grew up playing a host of sports – in particular, she was a talented basketballer.

But it is water polo that has taken her around the world. Danijela competed for Stanford University and was part of the US gold medal winning team at the World University Games back in 2017. An aggressive centre, she has also played water polo in Hungary and Spain.

But these days she has made her home in Cronulla, in southern Sydney, and is a prolific scorer for the Cronulla Sharks in the Australian Water Polo League.

"My water polo and life journey have led me to my new home in Australia, a country I am proud to represent,” Danijela said, who is a biomechanical engineer.

Danijela made her debut for the Stingers at the 2024 World Championships in Doha. Australia finished sixth, beating Britain 20-8 in the round of 16 before going down by a point to the USA in the quarter-finals.