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| Keesja
GOFERS |
| Sport |
Water Polo |
| NOC |
Australia
|
| Gender | Women |
| Born | 16 Mar 1990
in Sydney, AUS |
| Height | 1.78 m |
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Further Personal Information |
Higher education |
Architecture, Design - University of Sydney: Australia |
General Interest |
Famous relatives |
Her older sister Taniele Gofers won bronze in water polo at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Her sister Allira Hudson-Gofers [handball, beach handball] and her brother-in-law David Hudson [beach handball] have also both competed internationally. Her husband Scott Nicholson has represented Australia at beach handball at senior level, and at junior level in water polo. (Sydney University Water Polo Facebook page, 27 Nov 2021; corporate.olympics.com.au, 18 Aug 2016; amazonaws.com, 28 Jul 2016; waterpoloaustralia.com.au, 30 Jun 2013; dailytelegraph.com.au, 17 May 2013, 29 May 2013) |
Sport Specific Information |
Why this sport? |
Her older sisters played water polo and she joined in when their team did not have enough players. "My sister's U14 team was short on players and they got me to fill in the numbers. I spent the game swimming away from everyone, the rest is history." |
Name of coach |
Scott Nicholson [club, husband]; Scott Henderson [club]; Paul Oberman [national] |
Preferred position / style / stance / technique |
Driver |
Handedness |
Right |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
She played her first game of water polo at age six and joined a club at age 10. |
International Debut |
Year |
2010 |
Competing for |
Australia |
Tournament |
World League |
Location |
San Diego, CA, USA |
Further Personal Information |
Occupation |
Athlete, Business Owner |
Languages |
English |
General Interest |
Other information |
BUSINESS OWNER
In 2021 she launched a corporate team building business called KGro. She combines the business with floristry. "My business name is KGro. So, to explain that: my initials are KG, Keesja Gofers. And, you know, the business is all about growing your team's potential, growing your team's output, growing your business revenue. I've taken off the 'w' because as an athlete it's so important that we never stop growing. We never stop trying to learn, we have that learner mindset throughout our whole life, and that's what I want to try and encourage and bring to the corporate world. So in addition to being an athlete, an Olympian, my other passion is floristry. I used to explain this to people as being such a strange random, weird combination. Now I see these skills as my strength. During lockdown in 2020, I started doing bouquet-making online and loved doing that, loved sharing my story, loved teaching people a skill that they didn't know. Flowers add that bit of fun, a bit of uniqueness to the offering compared to other potential team-building companies." (LinkedIn profile, 13 Dec 2021; au.godaddy.com, 20 Sep 2021; Instagram profile, 31 Aug 2021)
OTHER ACTIVITIES
She has served as an ambassador for the Beach Water Polo Fours competition and National Tree Day in Australia. She has also served on the athlete commissions of the Oceania Swimming Association and the New South Wales Institute of Sport [NSWIS], and as an alumni coordinator of the Water Polo Australia. (kgro.com.au, 01 Oct 2021; LinkedIn profile, 01 Sep 2020)
INTERNATIONAL BREAK
In 2013 she returned to compete for Australia after a three-year self-imposed break from international water polo. (dailytelegraph.com.au, 17 May 2013) |
Awards and honours |
She was named Most Valuable Player [MVP] of the 2013 National League in Australia. (waterpoloaustralia.com.au, 22 Jan 2014) |
Sporting philosophy / motto |
"Don't wait for the ship to come, swim out to it." (amazonaws.com, 28 Jul 2016) |
Further Personal Information |
Family |
Husband Scott Nicholson |
General Interest |
Memorable sporting achievement |
Winning silver at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona, Spain, winning the Australian league title in 2016 and 2017, and being selected to compete at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (total-waterpolo.com, 09 Apr 2018) |
Nicknames |
Keesj (thewomensgame.com, 10 Aug 2018) |
Hero / Idol |
Australian water polo player [and her sister] Taniele Gofers. (total-waterpolo.com, 09 Apr 2018) |
Sport Specific Information |
Club / Team |
Sydney University Lions: Australia |
Further Personal Information |
Residence |
Sydney, NSW, AUS |
General Interest |
Hobbies |
Floristry. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Sep 2020) |
Olympic Games |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 5 |
2021 |
Tokyo, JPN |
Team |
|
| 6 |
2016 |
Rio de Janeiro, BRA |
Team |
|
World Championship |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 6 |
2024 |
Doha, QAT |
Team |
|
| 3 |
2019 |
Gwangju, KOR |
Team |
|
| 8 |
2017 |
Budapest, HUN |
Team |
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| 4 |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
Team |
|
| 2 |
2013 |
Barcelona, ESP |
Team |
|
World Cup |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 3 |
2018 |
Surgut, RUS |
Team |
|
| 2 |
2014 |
Khanty-Mansiysk, RUS |
Team |
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