Bronte Halligan is now a silver medallist but she was once a four year old with an Olympic dream

Australia Stinger Bronte Halligan was a toddler with an Olympic dream, now the daughter of NRL star, Daryl, is bringing a medal home.

It maybe wasn’t the colour she had in mind but the little girl who dared to dream big finally fulfilled the Olympic fantasy that started when she was a toddler.

The daughter of NRL grand final winner Daryl Halligan, Bronte Halligan won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics overnight as a member of the Australian women’s water polo team.

Longshots at the start of the tournament, the Stingers defied the odds just to reach the gold medal match against Spain but the European powerhouse proved too strong in the final, winning 11-9.

Bronte Halligan and the Stingers are silver medallists. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

For the Australians, finishing with the silver was still a great result, marking their best result since the Stingers famously won gold at Sydney in 2000, and the players were all giddy with excitement.

Halligan was just four years old at the time but went to the Sydney Games with her parents and posed for a photograph outside the main stadium, pretending to hold the Olympic flame in her right hand.

It’s a gorgeous photo that has gone viral online because it also helped plant the seed for her own Olympic ambitions.

The viral photo of Bronte Halligan at four years old at the Sydney 2000 Olympic games.

When she was just eight years old, Halligan told her family that she wanted to be an Olympian and water polo was her sport of choice.

Unlucky not to be selected for Rio in 2016, she made Olympic debut at Tokyo in 2021 but came away empty-handed.

Now, two days before her 28th birthday, and with her parents watching from the stands at the La Defense Arena pool in Paris, her dream finally came true when she was presented with an Olympic silver medal.

“I was four years old back then. I dreamt but I didn’t know if it was possible,” Halligan said.

“So making that dream a reality has just been the best experience of my life, not just with the 13 other players but all the other girls that have been involved in the program.

The Stingers’ silver medal marks their best result since gold in Sydney 2000. Picture: Adam Head

“With all the staff, we’ve just created this big community, our little bubble, and we love it and I just don’t want it to end. It’s just been phenomenal. To see myself up there in the stands, it’s been pretty cool.”

The photo of Halligan as a kid has gone viral on social media and she said she thinks back to it for inspiration.

“This morning I woke up and I said ‘play for little Bronte, play for her and do it for that little four year old that fell in love with the Olympics’,” she said.

“And I just had the best time. The only way I can describe it is joy.

“It has just been a joy to play, a joy to see the whole Australian community come along with us, and a joy to be around these girls day in, day out for as long as we have.”

Former NRL star Daryl Halligan with his silver medallist daughter Bronte in Paris.

Having now played at two Olympics, Halligan said the experience was even better than she imagined.

“It’s just the biggest celebration of sport, it’s just phenomenal,” she said.

“I love my sport no matter what it is. Water polo particularly I love, but it is just the best celebration on Earth and everyone comes together.

“It’s the coolest two weeks in the world, you just can’t describe it.”

Tilly Kearns, who was born the day after the Sydney Olympics ended, was also battling to keep her emotions in check after collecting a silver medal, with her family, including her father Phil, who won two Rugby World Cups with the Wallabies, also in the crowd.

“That moment standing up there singing the anthem is something that dreams are made up,” Kearns said.

“It’s something that myself and I know probably all of the girls had dreamt of since we were little girls.

“Going to the Olympics is one thing, but to be standing up there securing a medal is insane, very emotional.”

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