Glencora Ralph facts for kids
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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Birth name | Glencora Ralph | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | ![]() |
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Born | Geraldton, Western Australia |
8 August 1988 ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 176 cm (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 67 kilograms (148 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Water polo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | Women's team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Melville WPC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | Fremantle Marlins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Glencora McGhie (born Glencora Ralph on 8 August 1988) is an Australian water polo player. She plays as a centre back or driver. Glencora has won many medals, including a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She also played for Australia at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Glencora studied at the Curtin University of Technology and works as a dental therapist. She plays for the Fremantle Marlins team in the Australian National Water Polo League. Her team has won the league championship several times. She has also been a key player for the Australia women's national water polo team, both as a junior and a senior.
Contents
About Glencora McGhie
Glencora Ralph was born in Geraldton, Western Australia, on 8 August 1988. She has three siblings. Her sister, Mercedes Ralph, has also played water polo for Australia. Glencora is 176 cm (5 ft 9 in) tall and weighs 67 kg (148 lb). She is right-handed.
Besides water polo, she also used to swim competitively. However, she chose water polo because she found swimming less exciting. Glencora has a degree in School Dental Therapy. She works as a dental therapist. In 2007, she took a break from international water polo to finish her studies. Today, she is known as Glencora McGhie and has three children.
Glencora's Water Polo Journey
Glencora started playing water polo when she was thirteen years old. Her first competition was the Melville Flippaball Competition. She received a special scholarship for water polo from the Western Australian Institute of Sport. She plays in the centre back or driver positions. She prefers to wear cap number eight. When she was younger, she would wake up at 4 am to train in the pool.
Playing for Clubs
Glencora plays for the Melville Water Polo Club. She also plays for the Fremantle Marlins in the National Water Polo League. Her team, the Fremantle Marlins, has won the Australian Waterpolo League (AWL) championship many times. They won in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2014. In 2007, she was only eighteen years old when her team won.
In 2010, her coach was Wendy Arancini. Wendy is the mother of another national team player, Zoe Arancini. In 2010, Glencora was chosen for the league final's All Star team. Her team finished third, winning the bronze medal match against the Cronulla team.
In February 2023, Glencora made history in the AWL. She became the first woman to play 350 games! She said that water polo is now a "hobby" for her, especially since she had her twins. She sees it as important "me" time. As of 2024, she is still playing for the Fremantle Marlins.
Junior National Team Experience
Glencora has played for Australia's junior national water polo team. She was part of the junior team that won a gold medal at the 2007 FINA U20 World Championships in Porto, Portugal. She was one of only two players from Western Australia on that winning team.
Senior National Team Achievements
Glencora McGhie was an important member of the Australia women's national water polo team, also known as the Stingers. She first played for the senior team in China in 2006. This was during the early rounds of the FINA World League. She played in another tournament in 2006 because some other players were injured.
In 2009, she was part of the team that finished third at the FINA World League Super Finals in Kirishi, Russia. In 2010, she played for the national team in the FINA World League in Japan and China. Australia finished second in that tournament. Also in 2010, she helped the Stingers win a silver medal at the FINA World Cup in Christchurch, New Zealand.
She scored two goals when Australia beat Greece 11–7. She also scored two goals in Australia's 10–8 win against Russia. At the 2011 Canada Cup, she scored a goal in the first period of the gold medal match against China, which Australia won. She was also named to the All Star team for the 2011 Canada Cup.
In July 2011, Glencora was part of the Australian Stingers team at the 2011 FINA World Championships in Shanghai. She trained in Perth, Western Australia, to get ready for this tournament. In January 2012, she competed in the Pan Pacific Water Polo Championships for the Stingers.
In 2012, she was part of the Stingers team that played five games against Great Britain. This was the first time in six years they had played against Great Britain's national team. Glencora was a key player for the Stingers at the 2012 London Olympics, where they won a bronze medal. She also competed at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, where the Stingers won silver. In 2015, she played at the World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia, where the team finished fourth. The next year, she was part of the team at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where they finished sixth.
See also
- List of Olympic medalists in water polo (women)
- List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in water polo