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Melissa Rippon

Melissa ‘s outstanding talent was recognised early in her career. In 1997 at 16 years of age she was selected to represent Australia at the Junior Women's Water Polo Championships in Prague winning silver. Melissa has been a mainstay in the Australian team since 2000 beginning as a reserve member of the Gold winning team at the Sydney Olympics. Mel would make her Olympic debut in Athens 2004 followed by Bronze winning performances in Beijing and London.

Water Polo
  • Status: Pending
    2006
    Commonwealth Championships,Perth Gold 2007 FINA World Championships,Melbourne Silver
  • Status: Pending
    2008
    Beijing Olympics Women's Water Polo AUS 3 Bronze
  • Status: Pending
    2012
    London Olympics Women's Water Polo AUS 3 Bronze

Beginnings

Rebecca would be raised in the district attending Chester Hill North PS and Sefton HS. In 1994 aged 13, Bec would follow her sister and begin playing Water Polo.

Achievements

Melissa's impressive performance during the 2004 Olympics was a major factor in her selection as the Stingers captain in 2006 and she would lead the ‘Stingers' in a steady climb to the top of world rankings..

In 2006, she took on the role of captain of the Brisbane Barracudas and guided the team to victory in the 2009 national league. She has 303 Test Caps, the most capped woman in Australian water polo history.

Post Representation

Melissa retired in 2012 and is in the process of transitioning to high performance coaching through the Australian Sports Commission's National Coach Scholarship Program.