Passing On The Torch: Tilly Kearns and the Next Chapter of Stingers History

In just four days time, fans will flock to Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre for the World Aquatics Water Polo World Cup Finals, which will feature Paris Olympic silver medalists, the Aussie Stingers. 

Twenty-six years ago, the Australian women’s water polo team won gold in front of a home crowd at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, in the very same pool the Stingers will compete in at the World Cup Finals.

Tilly Kearns – a New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holder – wasn’t there to see it live. In fact, she wasn’t even born yet. She arrived on the very same day as the closing ceremony of those Games. 

For Kearns, the significance of that timing isn’t lost on her. Now, more than two and half decades on, she’s preparing to step into the same pool, hoping to carry on the legacy of the team that came before her. 

“Twenty six years later from the Olympic gold medal team, it’s incredible,” Kearns said. “We’ve all seen that clip of Yvette (Higgins) scoring that goal in the last second to win them the gold. They really paved the way for us as Aussie Stingers, and the duty’s on our shoulders to keep paving the way and upholding that legacy.”

“If we can do what they did 26 years ago and have a bit of a repeat moment in that same pool, it’s going to be so cool.”

If you ask Kearns what makes the Aussie Stingers program so special, the answer has nothing to do with medals at all.

“I’d be surprised if everyone didn’t answer our culture being special because we really are a family,” she said. “Thats truly why I keep coming back. We’re laughing all the time. It’s not just the girls, it’s the coaches too. We are such a unit and it’s so special.”

It’s the closeness of the Stingers that Kearns says, is exactly what carried the squad through the Paris Olympic Games, and it is what she is most excited to share with a home crowd in Sydney.

“I think in Paris the world got to see how close we are as a team. So to bring Sydney and Australia along with us on that ride is really exciting.”

For Kearns, this World Cup Finals means something no tournament before quite has. It’s the first time she, and her teammates, won’t need their loved ones to board a plane just to watch them play.

“I’m so excited for this World Cup Finals.” Kearns said. “I’ve played a few of them now, but this one is my extra special,”

“You can feel the energy in the air, just at training. It’s just so exciting that it’s on home soil and finally my family and friends don’t have to travel to watch me play.”

It’s a chance, she said, to give something back to the people who have dedicated so much for her to be where she is today.

“Our family and friends have sacrificed so much for us to play this sport and to do what we’re doing and to be where we are,” she said.

“I think to reward them, I don’t know if it even is a reward for them, but so they can see the work we’ve put in, thanks to them.”

“And then to bring all the other international teams as well and to show them a little bit of us and a little bit of Australia is really special.”

Twenty six years on, Kearns and the Ord Minnett Aussie Stingers now have their own chance to write the next chapter of history. Carrying the torch forward for the next generation, in front of a crowd of people who matter most.

The World Aquatics Water Polo World Cup Finals will be held from 22-26 July 2026 at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.

ABOUT THE WORLD CUP FINALS

Australia will host the World Aquatics Water Polo World Cup Finals for the first time this month, with the top water polo nations to battle it out from 22-26 July 2026 at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.

The top nations including Paris Olympic men’s silver medalists Croatia (men) and gold medalists Spain (women) will take centre stage, with Aussie sports fans offered a rare glimpse of the world’s top eight men’s and women’s teams competing for the ultimate glory in international water polo.

The Ord Minnett Aussie Stingers were the story of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games with their silver medal success, where the Aussie Sharks embraced the underdog status to deliver historic victories against European powerhouses Serbia and Hungary.

Aussie fans will have guaranteed front-row action to the Stingers and Aussie Sharks World Cup Finals campaign with the teams competing on days one and two of the tournament.

The women’s and men’s semi finals will take place on Friday 22 and Saturday 23 July, with the bronze and gold medal playoffs to be held on Sunday 24 July.

Tickets on sale now – click here

Find out more about the 2026 World Aquatics World Cup Finals – click here

Water Polo Australia