Sibling rivalries have pushed some of Australia’s top young water polo players into the pool for London 2012. From a sport always steeped in family tradition, water polo prodigies Keesja Gofers and Holly Lincoln-Smith are the latest to follow their sisters towards the Olympic Games.

Keesja cheered her older sister Taniele Gofers to a thrilling bronze water polo medal at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. On the slopes of Whistler, Holly saw her sister Emma Lincoln-Smith rocket down the skeleton track at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games in 2010.

Those moments gave Keesja, now 21 and Holly, now 22, the drive to pursue their own Olympic dreams and they are ready to place their own marks on London in 2012.

“Water polo is a very family orientated sport. You get brothers, sisters, cousins all competing. It’s really nice to have that heritage and so many generations playing together at the moment,” said Keesja, who followed her sister into the sport at school.

“Seeing my sister competing in Beijing gave me the chance to embarrass myself as part of the very passionate Aussie cheer squad, but more than that it definitely inspired me” said Keesja.

In 2012 she hopes to swap the green and gold bikini for speedos, the carved out watermelon hat for an Australian cap, and is saving her lungs for the months of tough training before Australia lines up against New Zealand in December 2011 to fight for one Oceania qualification position.

The Lincoln-Smith sisters have always been talented sportswomen. Holly preferred aquatics while her sister excelled at beach sprints, and almost every sport she tried.

“My best Olympic memory is of seeing my sister, Emma, place tenth in Vancouver- the best ever skeleton result for an Australian” said Holly.

“It also made me realise just how much I wanted to compete at the Olympic Games one day” she said.

Extremely proud and as competitive as her sister, Holly hopes the Australian water polo team will return to gold medal form in London after placing fourth in Athens and winning a bronze medal in Beijing.

“I don’t train just to qualify for the London Olympic Games and compete in 2012, I am training to win gold,” she said.

Knowing all about close finishes, veteran sisters Melissa and Rebecca Rippon and their step-sister Kate Gynther are all lining up for their third Olympic appearances with medals on their minds.

“Our focus leading to London is not worrying about who to beat but how to make ourselves unbeatable,” Melissa explained.

The strength and depth of the 22-player squad is not lost on coach, Greg McFadden.

“The nucleus of our Beijing team has returned and has been reinforced by talented new players and juniors” he said.

McFadden claims Australia will bring a fast, aggressive, attacking style of water polo to the three-test Oceania qualification series against New Zealand in December 2011.

Only eight water polo teams can qualify for the London Olympic Games. Great Britain has been granted the European quota place meaning top European nations Russia and the Netherlands will endure a tough qualification process before the Games.

Taya Conomos
AOC