Sharks win gold in the USA

The Australian men’s water polo team has created history by winning its first gold medal at a major international event with victory at the 2015 FINA World League Intercontinental Cup in the USA.

Featuring nine NSWIS athletes, the Sharks defeated Brazil 9-6 to claim the gold after leading for most of the match.

NSWIS athlete Tyler Martin scored in the first quarter as the Australians led 2-1, before fellow NSWIS athletes Richie Campbell, Nathan Power and Jarrod Gilchrist each added a goal to see Australia lead 6-3 at the half time break.

The Sharks then added another three goals to Brazil’s in the second half, running out 9-6 winners to secure victory.

“I am really satisfied with the way we played, especially to win the game. It is not easy to play six international games in six days, and we won them all,” said Head Coach Elvis Fatovic.

“We played our best defence for the tournament against Brazil and that allowed us a comfortable situation in attack. We stopped their counter attack, which helped us dominate through the game.”

The team now returns to Australia to continue preparations ahead of the FINA World League Super Final in Italy during June.