Bron Knox | How to pivot after the peak

Universal admiration, unrivalled athleticism, representing your country - there’s no greater sporting achievement than making it to the Olympics.

And that’s before you’ve even stepped onto the field of play.

But once you’ve given the guts and had the glory, what’s next for elite athletes? How do they pivot after the peak?

We spoke to Bronwen Knox, two-time bronze Olympic medallist and four-time Olympian about life after the Games, women in sport and leaving behind a legacy.

The Early Years

“I’ve always been a water baby. The water is a place I feel comfortable. It became a way to process emotions,” she says.

“If I was stuck in an assignment, I'd go for a swim and just start to drop all the excess away and suddenly it became clear. It gave me clarity, [and the] ability to think.”

Bronwen’s intro to the water was just as much nature as it was nurture.

“There's a story that goes around where my older sister was at swimming lessons, and I just wanted to be in there and enjoy it. I got thrown into the deep end and I just was a naturally floating baby, she says.

“My mum used to do swim squad, so we used to go down with mum to the local primary school [and] train. In that session there was the junior and a masters. And so, every morning we'd walk down to school, swim, walk home, get ready for school.”

But it was the Sydney 2000 Olympics that secured her switch from swimming to Water Polo.

“I saw it [Water Polo] for the first time on the biggest stage and just was obsessed, absolutely loved it. It had everything that I loved from swimming to teamwork, to ball skills, and it just moved from there. I went and just kept trying to find any opportunity I had to play and train, she says.

“I always think of myself as a legacy athlete because I was a product of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and watching those girls.”

Making moves

“I came back and joined a club that had one of the girls, Naomi McCarthy (Naomi Castle) in it. I joined her club at 16-years-old and played in the Opens with her and it was so incredibly special to learn [from her] and she's still one of my close friends to this day.”

And trying on her [Australian] kit for the first time? A core memory.

“The first time that I got presented with my Aussie bathers was just so incredibly special. It felt like [I was] putting on armour and going into battle. [I] couldn't wait to hit that water.”

As it turns out, Bronwen’s instincts about Water Polo being in her future were bang on, with a captaining gig to lead the Aussie Singers presenting early in her career.

“I had the great honour of being the captain for the very first time in 2009 as a pretty young kid still growing up” she recalls. “[I] leaned into it and I ended up being captain for that year.”

She remained part of the leadership team until she was called upon again to captain in 2013. This time her stint lasted longer, and she held the position until after the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Despite competing for the last time in Tokyo 2020, Bronwen still has skin in the Games.

With the coveted title of Deputy Chef de Mission in the Paris 2024 Olympics, she’s come a long way from being a 14-year-old hopeful, witnessing the inaugural inclusion of Women’s Water Polo at Sydney 2000. And the sport has come a long way too.

“The men's Water Polo started at the modern Olympics in 1900s, and the first-time women were allowed to compete was Sydney 2000.

“It took a lot of campaigning. The girls of that team and that squad were in their bathers at airports with signs on Airport Drive. [They were] getting into boardrooms, getting in front of people to get Women's Water Polo in so we could have equal representation between the men's and the women's.”

When it comes to Water Polo, Bronwen is in it for the long haul and has stuck it out during some not-so-glam stints. Like, when she was preparing for the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020.

“I took a year off work, which turned into two years off work. I ended up having to sort of live out of my car for six months because I had no home base to go to. My family lived out of state had I relied on other former Olympians who offered couches and spare rooms and moved every couple of weeks because you weren't sure where we were going to be,” she says.

“We were in northern New South Wales, then we're in Queensland, and it just became really stressful. It was a lot of drain and financial pressure. I knew that then fell into stress on my body, which as an older athlete you've got to look after to the nth degree.”

Looking forward

But for Bronwen, the pros far outweigh the cons. As a coach for up-and-coming athletes and her recent appointment of Deputy Chef de Mission, Bronwen is making sure she passes on her learnings from years in the game.

“After a month home, I approached my coach at the Queensland Academy of Sport and said ‘Look, I really want to give back. I've got 21 years of experience that's just going to go to waste if I don't use it and pay it forward to the girls coming through, so they can learn the lessons I learned potentially quicker.’

“It was a good way to balance my sport and my learnings and giving back, but still having another life outside of Water Polo.”

It’s this type of forward thinking that helped Bronwen prepare for life after being an Olympian. With a Bachelor of Biomedical Science, a Graduate Diploma in Public Health (Emergency and Disaster Management) and a Bachelor of Law (Honours) she’s not dropped the ball when it comes to qualifications.

As well as her role of Deputy Chef de Mission, Bronwen is a member of the National Sports Tribunal and a National integrity Manager for NSOs of Taekwondo, Judo and Boxing.

And with this kind of passion for sport, how does she feel about the upcoming Brisbane 2032 Games?

“I am so excited to see the Olympics and Paralympics come to Brisbane and to share something that I'm really passionate about with the broader community, she says.

“You see the highs, you see the lows, its emotion, its passion. It's close losses and tight wins. That spirit, that energy, brings a community together and creates opportunity for people to shine and tell their stories. It's an amazing way to just get out, see what Queensland and Brisbane have to offer and be a part of that entire experience.

“I think there's opportunity for the Brisbane 2032 games to build a legacy of facilities, of transport, of accessibility for anyone who's living with a disability or acquires a disability along their lifetime. I think there's opportunity for us to broaden our community sphere and build within our community connections and create lasting change.”