En route to Paris: How Gabi Palm went from swimming hater to water polo’s best goalkeeper
Gabi Palm hated freestyle and didn’t want to swim in high school, but, as she reveals on the En Route to Paris podcast, a punt on the new sport to meet people led her on a path to the Olympics.
It’s a good thing Gabi Palm hated swimming or the Australian women’s water polo team might not have one of the best goalkeepers in the world heading into the Paris Olympics.
Speaking on the latest en Route to Paris podcast, Palm said she reluctantly opted for water polo at Brisbane Girls Grammar.
“I remember going to my school’s open day and water polo was an option and I hate freestyle,” Palm told En Route to Paris host Rowie Webster.
“That’s what I remember thinking, ‘Water polo no way, I don’t want to swim’.
“But people were saying to me, ‘Oh, it’s a great opportunity to meet new friends’.
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“So I thought, ‘what have I got to lose?’ And I went to the trials and my terrible freestyle shone through but I’m not bad at breaststroke, and nobody wanted to be goalkeeper.
“So they just kind of pulled me aside and were, ‘OK Gabi, why don’t you try goalkeeper’.
“I had nothing to lose and it kind of just went from there.”
Palm earned her first junior national team berth in 2014 at age 16 and then competed in her first FINA World Championship at youth level in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2016.
Now the 26-year-old rising international star is the incumbent No.1 in a Stingers team that is looking to get back on the Olympic podium for the first time since 2012.
In her Olympics debut, Palm and the team the Stingers finished fifth after losing to Russia 9-8 in the quarter-finals.
Gabi helped the Stingers concede the second-least amount of goals in the tournament.
Palm has gone from fighting for her place in the team to one of the Stingers’ strongest leaders.
“(Before Tokyo) all I really had to do was worry about trying to make the team, trying to perform,” Palm said.
“I had a real tunnel vision, which I was able to do, and it was great.
“Now in this (Olympic) cycle I’ve stepped into more of a leadership role and have a lot more balls in the air.
“It’s learning how to juggle them but also how to compartmentalise so when I’m in the pool, I can focus on my job.”
Palm believes the key to good leadership is getting the balance right between the team’s needs and her own.
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“It’s like that saying that you have to have your cup full first before you start pouring in other people’s,” Palm said.
The 10-team women’s water polo competition at the Olympics is at the Paris Aquatic Centre (preliminary rounds) and the Paris La Defense Arena (finals) from July 27 to August 10.
Australia has been draw in Group A against the Netherlands, Canada, China and Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Hungary.
Originally published as En route to Paris: How Gabi Palm went from swimming hater to water polo’s best goalkeeper
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