Growing up in Bendigo, Victoria, the shy girl who would shoot hoops on her roller skates is one of Australia’s most decorated basketballers, captaining the Opals and winning four Olympic medals.

“Everyone tells me I had a ball in my hand from the time I was three,” Harrower said.

“My parents were involved with the Bendigo Stadium, my mum actually owned the canteen there and my dad coached, so my sister and I pretty much lived there.

“On the days that mum and dad would work late, I remember we used to have mattresses at the basketball court and would just fall asleep until they finished up.”

Initially coached by her mum, Janice, Harrower showed exceptional promise on the court and later was coached by legendary WNBL coach (and Kristi’s dad) Bernie Harrower.

“Kristi was always a stand-out player as a junior and as a coach I always wondered what it was that separated good players from great players,” Bernie explained.

“I realised it’s what they do when they cross that white line and Kristi was just one of those kids who hated to lose. She was a player that drove herself and everybody around her to be better.

“She got that white line fever really early on, even as a kid, she was so competitive whether she was playing in a big game or a shooting competition in the backyard, it was unbelievable.”

Bernie says playing for Australia and going to an Olympics was ‘all Kristi wanted’ growing up, but even now, he finds it hard to believe she was able to represent her country at four Olympics and bring home a medal every time.

“All she wanted to do was play for Australia and go to the Olympics, that was her number one goal growing up,” he said.

“I always knew she was going to be good enough to compete for a spot in the team, but when she was young and you looked at all of the players who were household names ahead of her I thought to myself, ‘she would be doing really well to make the team’.

“From the time she started at Sydney 2000, she was a major player for the Australian Opals and she continued to be, right up until her last Games at London 2012.”

Harrower was 37 years-old at London, and prior to the Games her coach was preparing to tell her it would be her first Olympics not starting.

“She went to her training camp before London 2012 and Carrie Graf said to Kristi, ‘I want you to see one of sports psychologists to talk about not starting.’

“Of course, they didn’t realise how much work Kristi had been doing behind the scenes. In the lead up to London she had been working tirelessly to get herself into shape and by the time the training camp was over, they had to re-assess where to put her.”

The point guard ended up starting throughout London 2012 and led her team to its fourth Olympic medal.

Harrower says her last medal was the most special.

“Winning bronze at London 2012 was even more meaningful than winning silver [at Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008],” she said.

“Don’t get me wrong, I treasure my silver medals but when you win silver, it’s after losing a gold medal match.

“Winning that bronze was special because it was my last Olympics and I’d worked so hard to get there. It was also, I think, the best game I’ve ever played for the Opals.”

Those who watched Harrower play would have seen a strong and confident captain, but leadership wasn’t built into her, it was something that only surfaced on the court.

“If you knew Kristi and had seen her growing up, you wouldn’t think she was the same person on the court,” Bernie said. “They were like chalk and cheese.”

“Kristi was very meek, mild and laid back off the court, and the total opposite when she was in the zone.”

The former Opals captain said her commanding presence on the court came as a surprise to her too.

“I don’t know where that leadership on the court came from, because I was never a confident kid at school. I actually hated school and I wasn’t very good at it.

“I was the kid that didn’t want to read out loud and who wasn’t very academic,” she shared.

“I remember so clearly, having a conversation with my dad where I said, ‘why aren’t I as good at school as I am at basketball?’ My dad said, ‘because school isn’t a passion for you like basketball is.’

“Being on the court was where I felt comfortable, whereas the classroom wasn’t. When I was on the court, I was at home.

 “I was the type of player who would watch video of myself and figure out what I should have done in certain situations,  I was a real studier of the game, so  I think my leadership just came through that drive to always want to improve and succeed.

“I’m a coach now, but towards the end of my playing career I did become like more of a teacher,” she said.

Harrower says that the support of her small community in Bendigo buoyed her throughout her career, so she has always made it a priority to give back.

“In country towns you have your local paper who are always there reporting. I remember getting a lot of media attention when I was younger, and the town’s media pretty much followed me throughout my entire career.

“I’ve even got some old clippings of when we won the Victorian Championships and the local paper really got behind us. 

“Because of that, I’ve always been happy to give back to the community in whatever way I can, because they supported me from the start.”

As a mother of two children, Cooper, four and Lachlan, two, she wants to pass on the same values of humility and gratitude that were instilled in her by her family and community.

“People who grow up in the country are very laid back and I’m lucky that my parents raised me to be down to earth.

“Even when I was playing at the highest level, that was one thing I wanted, for people to remember me as somebody who was easy going, that wasn’t high maintenance or a problem. 

“I wanted people to see me as down to earth, easy to talk to and know that I would give anyone the time of day and I still do now and that’s the way I bring my boys up,” she continued.

“I want to bring my kids up with confidence, but not arrogance. They know that there is no place for bullying and that they should make an effort to get along with everybody because that’s the way I was brought up.”

Liana Buratti