Madeleine Steere facts for kids

Madeleine Kate Steere (born 15 September 1996) is an amazing Australian water polo player. She plays as a centre back. Madeleine has played for many teams in Australia. She also played for the University of Michigan in the United States. Later, she joined a team in Turkey. She has played 67 games for the Australian national team.

About Madeleine Steere

Madeleine Kate Steere was born on 15 September 1996. Her parents are Darren and Catherine Steere. She was born in Pascoe Vale, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. She has one sister named Alexandra.

Madeleine went to St Catherine's School in Melbourne. She started studying at the University of Melbourne in 2015. In 2017, she moved to the United States. There, she studied at the University of Michigan. She left in 2019 but returned in 2022. She studied biomolecular science at the university.

Her Water Polo Journey

Madeleine is 1.80 meters tall. She plays water polo using her right hand. Her position in the game is centre back.

Starting Young: Youth Career

Madeleine began her water polo journey in 2003. She started at the Essendon Water Polo Club in her hometown. She played there until 2016. She also played for Victorian Tigers Water Polo Club in 2011 and 2012. After that, she joined the Victorian Seals Club. She played for the Seals for four years. This was in the Australian National Water Polo League (ANWPL).

In 2013, her team won a silver medal. This was at the Women's Water Polo Canada Cup. In 2014, she was named "Water Polo Australia Junior Athlete of the Year." During the FINA Youth Water Polo World Championships in Spain in 2014, something big happened. The head coach of the Michigan Wolverines team noticed her. He invited her to study and play water polo in the United States.

Madeleine accepted the offer in 2017. She played for the water polo team for two years. She was even chosen for the "All-American team" in 2018. She left the team in 2019 but came back in 2022. She continued playing for Michigan.

As an athlete with the Victorian Institute of Sport, she joined Australia's national youth team. In 2012, she was the captain of the national U-16 team. They won the gold medal at the Pan Pacific Games in Melbourne. She also played in the FINA Youth Water Polo World Championships in Spain in 2014. In 2015, she captained the Australia U-18 team. This was at the FINA World Women's Junior Water Polo Championships. She also won a gold medal with the national team. This was at the 2015 Summer Universiade.

Playing for Clubs

After returning from the United States in 2019, Madeleine joined a new team. She played for the Australian Catholic University Cronulla Sharks Water Polo Club in the ANWPL. She was also part of Griffith University's Queensland Thunder team. They won the ANWPL bronze medal in 2023.

In September 2023, Madeleine moved to Turkey. She signed a contract with İzmir BB GSK. This team represented Turkey in Europe for the first time. They became champions of the 2023–24 LEN Women's Challenger Cup.

Representing Australia

While studying in the United States, Madeleine was often part of the Australian national team. She played in 67 international matches. She competed at the World Aquatics Championships in 2017. Australia finished eighth in that tournament. In 2019, her team won the bronze medal at the same championships.

Madeleine was also part of the Australian team in the Water Polo World League Super Final. She played in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Australia finished seventh in the first two competitions. They came in fifth place in the last one.