Lea Yanitsas (née Barta;born 15 March 1989) is an Australian water polo player who plays the position of goalkeeper. She was part of the Australian team at the 2015, 2017 and 2019 World Aquatics Championships.[1]

Lea Yanitsas
Personal information
Birth nameLea Terese Barta
Born (1989-03-15) 15 March 1989 (age 35)
Sydney, Australia
Height172 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight78 kg (172 lb)
Sport
SportWater polo
Medal record
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2013 Barcelona Team competition
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Gwangju Team competition

Yanitsas was a member of the Australian Stingrays squad that competed at the 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Career

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Yanitsas made her senior debut in 2007. She won a silver medal in 2010 World Cup in Christchurch and competed in the World Championships at Barcelona in 2013, and Kazan in 2015.[citation needed] She was co Captain of Sydney Uni who were National League Champions in 2016.[citation needed]

In the 2020 Olympics, the Aussie Stingers went through to the quarterfinals. They were beaten 8-9 by Russia and therefore did not compete for an Olympic medal.[2]

Personal life

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Yanitsas grew up on Sydney's Northern Beaches.[3] Yanitsas is the daughter of a New Zealand-born mother and Czech father. She is married to Andrew Yanitsas who she met through water polo and they have one son.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "BCN 2015 Australian Women's Water Polo Team" (PDF). waterpolo.sportresult.com. Omega Timing. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  2. ^ "2020 Olympics". www.theroar.com.au. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  3. ^ Simos,Andriana (3 June 2021). "'I'm so lucky': Lea Yanitsas on qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics with the Aussie Stingers". The Greek Herald. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Australia's women's water polo keeper Lea Yanitsas gets set for Olympics like no other". Neos Kosmos. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
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