Joel Dennerley

Fast Facts

Sport: Water Polo
Event: Men's Water Polo
Olympic History: London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020
Year Born: 1987
State Born: NSW

About Joel

Olympian Joel Dennerley has been a member of the Australian Sharks since 2008.

While studying a degree in human performance and psychology at the University of Southern California, Joel played for the USC Trojans. He anchored the team to four straight NCAA Championships (2008-2011) during his four years of study and became a four-time All-American team member.

Joel made his Olympic debut at the 2012 London Games, where the Australian team finished the event in seventh place. Four years later, Joel was a member of his second Olympic Team in Rio. During his Rio Campaign, Joel made an impressive 29 saves from 51 shots, making him the sixth best goalkeeper in the world. 

As a member of the UNSW Wests Magpies, Joel has won multiple Australian Championships in the national water polo league. 

In 2018, Joel made his first FINA World Cup podium claiming a silver medal and a year later claimed bronze at the 2019 World League Super Final. 

Joel made his third Olympic appearance at the delayed Tokyo 2020 games. Australia would fight through a very competitive group stage of the games, facing the likes of Croatia, Spain, and eventual gold medalists Serbia. They would finish the stage with a 2-3 record, losing out on medal contention in heartbreaking fashion, based on their first-round loss to Montenegro.