Melissa Rippon facts for kids
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Melissa Alison Rippon | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Australian | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 20 January 1981 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 169 cm (5 ft 7 in) (2008) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 70 kg (154 lb) (2008) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Water polo | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Women's team | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Melissa Alison Rippon (born on January 20, 1981) is a former Australian water polo player. She played for the Brisbane Barracudas team in the National Water Polo League. Melissa proudly represented Australia at three Summer Olympics. She won bronze medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She also earned a silver medal at the 2010 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup.
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About Melissa Rippon
Melissa Rippon was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She is 169 centimeters (about 5 feet 6 inches) tall and weighs 70 kilograms (about 154 pounds).
She has two sisters who also played water polo for Australia. Her sister is Rebecca Rippon, and her step-sister is Kate Gynther. Melissa's mother passed away in 2000. Melissa was able to spend more time with her mother because she couldn't compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics due to an injury.
In 2002, Melissa moved to Brisbane. Her father moved there in 2003. Melissa and Kate Gynther lived with their parents in Oxley, Queensland. They became very close friends. When Melissa was on the junior national team, she watched Australia win its first women's water polo gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Melissa's Water Polo Career
Melissa started playing water polo because her sister played the sport. In 2002, she received a scholarship from the Queensland Academy of Sport. In 2006, an injury kept her from playing internationally for a while.
In 2017, Melissa received a special award. It was the first Inclusive Coach Award from ACON Pride in Sport / Pride in Diversity Australia. She earned this for her work with the Brisbane Tritons. This club is Queensland's first water polo club that welcomes everyone, including LGBTIQ+ players. She shared this award with fellow coach Damien Hicks.
Playing for Clubs
Melissa played club water polo for the Brisbane Barracudas. This team competes in the National Water Polo League. She was part of the team in 2008, 2011, and 2012.
The yearly game between the Breakers and Barracudas is a big rivalry. Melissa played in the 2008 match with her team. In 2000, she hurt her wrist, which stopped her from joining the national team for the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Olympic Games
Melissa was a member of the Australia women's national water polo team. They finished fourth at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She then helped the team win a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
In Beijing, her team lost to the United States in the semi-finals. They then played against Hungary for the bronze medal and won. Earlier in the Olympics, her team had tied with Hungary.
Melissa was chosen for the Olympic training team for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The team of seventeen players was later cut down to thirteen. Melissa was selected to compete and won another bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
Her sisters, Kate Gynther and Rebecca Rippon, also hoped to play in three straight Olympic Games. If Rebecca had made the 2012 team, they would have been the first Australian siblings to do so.
Other National Team Games
Melissa represented Australia at the 2005 World Championships in Canada. She scored a goal in Australia's 9–2 win over the Netherlands in the semi-finals. In 2005, she also won a bronze medal at the FINA World League Super Finals in Russia.
In 2006, she was part of the Australian team that won first place at the 2006 FINA Water Polo World Cup. That same year, she won a gold medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. In 2007, she was the team captain.
She was also captain of the Australian team that finished second at the FINA Water Polo World Championships in 2007. In December 2007, she played against New Zealand. Australia won the first two games easily. During the second game, she was kicked by an opponent and missed the third game.
Melissa was part of Australia's Olympic qualification games in 2008. She scored a goal in an 18–1 win over New Zealand. She played in a 7–7 draw against Hungary in August 2008. She was sent out of the game with sixteen seconds left. Australia was ahead, but Hungary tied the match.
She was chosen for the FINA World League preliminary round in China in 2008. In a qualifying match against China, she scored a goal in an 11–9 win. In 2009, she was again the team captain.
In August 2010, Melissa played for the national team at a tournament in Sydney. She scored the winning goal in a 10–8 victory over the United States. This was her 212th game for the senior team. In 2010, she won a silver medal at the FINA World Cup in New Zealand. She scored a goal in the final 10–8 win against the United States.
In April 2011, she attended a training camp to prepare for major championships. In 2011, she was one of five Queensland women to play for the Australian Stingers in the FINA World League in New Zealand. In July 2011, she played for the Australian Stingers at the 2011 FINA World Championships in Shanghai.
She also competed in the 2012 Pan Pacific Water Polo Championships in January 2012. She was part of the Stingers team that played a five-game series against Great Britain in February 2012. This was their first time playing Great Britain in six years. She scored a goal in the first game, which Australia won 13–5.
See also
In Spanish: Melissa Rippon para niños
- Australia women's Olympic water polo team records and statistics
- List of Olympic medalists in water polo (women)
- List of players who have appeared in multiple women's Olympic water polo tournaments
- List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in water polo
Images for kids
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The third of a five-game test series against the Great Britain women's national water polo team on 25 February 2012. Australia won 15–6. On the far left is Bronwen Knox, then Zoe Arancini, Melissa Rippon, Rowena Webster, Hannah Buckling.
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Rippon passes the ball during the fifth and final test match against Great Britain
