Grammar Graduate: Gabi Palm (2015)

Since graduating, Gabi Palm (2015) has participated in two Olympic Games as the Australian Stingers goalkeeper. Most recently, at the Paris Olympic Games, the team won the silver medal, in which Gabi made 14 saves against Team USA to take the team to the gold medal match.

We had the chance to chat with Gabi about what it means to be an Olympian and part of the Stingers.

What does it mean to you to be an Olympic silver medallist?

It’s such an honour. I always dreamt of what it meant to go to the Olympics and represent Australia and what it meant to be an Olympian, and there’s such select few people who get to say that—it’s such an honour. I have always been proud of that and never had any expectations to become a medallist. I just knew that as a team we were going into this Olympics going to do everything we could to put up a good performance, and if we could walk away saying that, then I could hold my head high. It’s really special now to be able to say that we did everything we could—we stuck to our processes and that resulted in a silver medal—I am so proud of that. Knowing how much hard work we put into it and what that represents, and then the people I got to share it with as well, makes it that extra special and it’s something I will be able to have for the rest of my life. Not only that, but what the medal evokes, and the way it can connect other people and inspire young girls, and what it means for the sport, I think that’s what’s really special for me with the medal.

The role of keeper, there is a specific kind of pressure that would feel different to the other positions. Where do you draw from when you need to perform? Particularly in the penalty shootouts. Does that moment feel separate to the rest of the game? What does that process look like?

As goalkeeper, I’m very much part of the team, but it’s also quite separate. Sometimes we joke that goal keeping is a separate sport within the sport because my training is totally different. But for me to be able to do my role effectively in the pool, I have to have a really strong defence in front of me. The connection I have with my teammates and the way we all work together allows me to be able to do my job. So, sometimes it looks like ‘Gabi made that save,’ but without my defence doing their job and their ability to channel the ball to me, I wouldn’t be able to do that, so it's very much a team effort.

Shootouts are completely different because I don’t have anyone in front of me and it’s just me one-on-one with the shooter, but I think sometimes you can say that with the shootout the pressure is a little bit on the shooter. So, I try and take a breath with the penalty shootouts, I always try and do all of my research and try and see where shooters like to shoot, look at their habits, and then I just get in there and really try and remember that, watch the ball, and see what I can do. But it’s that moment where it’s just utter silence before a shootout, it’s that moment of calm and peace where you don’t know what’s about to happen. And it’s funny, so many spectators find that so stressful, and I think even just when you are watching it, it’s so stressful. But when you’re in the moment you just forget about that and you’re watching the ball and it’s just Water Polo.

There is something about being an athlete where you enjoy the adrenaline.

Absolutely, I think even sometimes with how big the crowd was, we hear it when we walk out. But sometimes when you’re in the moment, I just didn’t even remember it was there and you’re just watching the ball and you’re with your teammates and that’s all you see.

Becoming an elite Water Polo athlete requires a lot of sacrifice given that you have to travel to have roles in different teams. What is it about Water Polo and the Stingers that makes the sacrifice worth it?

I had to learn a lesson which I probably started learning even at school—for me it was never a sacrifice, it was always a choice. I was choosing to do what I wanted, and this was what I had to do. There are some really hard lessons when you have to choose to go to training over maybe going to a party or seeing your friends and what not, but I’ve always thought of it like I’m choosing to do this, and this is a part of it.

There’s no greater honour then being able to represent your country at the Olympics which is the greatest stage. I really love what the Stingers stand for and what we’re about—the legacy we’ve created ever since the 2000 Olympics and even before that, before it was at the Olympics, we have such a strong history—and I’m so proud to be a part of that and stand with the 12 girls that I did on the Olympic podium; I knew that wouldn’t be possible without the Water Polo women that came before me. So, to be a part of that history, makes it so special. I love playing Water Polo and playing it at a club is great, but it is extra special being able to play for the Stingers.

You mentioned the word legacy. Looking to the future, the shape of women’s sport is rapidly evolving. From an outsider’s perspective, this moment will inspire young girls to pick up the sport. How does it feel to know it will alter the shape of women’s sport and Women’s Water Polo?

I think that’s really special. Unfortunately for Water Polo, we don’t get a lot of attention and that spotlight, so I think it’s really special what we were able to with this Olympic journey and what it meant to be winning a silver medal—it enabled us to put Water Polo on the map a bit. To know that us doing this inspired one other girl, just making that one little difference, is what’s so special. We’ve already heard that attendance numbers are going up and I think it all starts from giving it a go, that’s how I started. So, if its inspiring little girls to get in the pool and give Water Polo a go, they never know what will happen from that. I think it is really special that what we were able to achieve was bring attention and hopefully start some young girl’s journey to maybe go to the Olympics too.

You’re in the Stingers leadership group. What is your role and how do you fit into the group?

So, I’m a part of the leadership group with two other girls: we have our captain, Zoe; and then me and another girl, Bronte, help support Zoe in that role. The three of us lean on each other, and what’s so special about that is we are quite different people and we bring difference things. I think of it as a way of trying to help the team be the best they can be, and if I can support girls and the team by having a conversation, or being there for them, or seeing something someone else doesn’t, I think that’s the way I like to lead. I think it’s so important to make sure that girls in the team feel seen and heard and that helps us create those connections with each other. If I can play a small part in helping us do that then I know I have done a good job.

At our 2024 Annual Speech Day and Distribution of Prizes, Gabi was awarded the Dr Mary Mahoney AO Prize for Leadership. This prize is awarded to a student or recent graduate who is a young woman of strength, integrity and humility and personifies the ideals of intellectual endeavour, women’s progress and authentic leadership.