Nicola Zagame is out of the pool – and marooned on a beach.
The two-time Olympian is one of 24 contestants taking part in season two of Australian Survivor. The series sees the castaways left on a beach in Samoa with no shelter, electricity and minimal food and left to fend for themselves against the elements and each other.
A former student at Gymea Bay Public School and Kirrawee High School and Cronulla Sharks Water Polo player, “Ziggy” will look to outwit, outplay and outlast her fellow castaways and bring home the $500,000 prize money.
And, as an elite sportswoman, 26-year-old Zagame is well-placed to do just that.
“Growing up in elite sport has prepared me well for Survivor. I have experienced being away from home and loved ones for multiple weeks at a time throughout the past 10 years,” she said.
“I have had to perform day in and day out under extreme and critical pressure and situations through tournaments and training camps.
“Also having to be friends and live in close proximity with teammates who I am ultimately competing with for a spot in the Olympic team has prepared me to separate friendship and competition.”
Zagame represented Australia in water polo at the London and Rio Olympic Games, winning a bronze medal in 2012. Australia were eliminated in a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals by Hungary last year.
Since retired from water polo, Zagame is looking at other sporting activities to get into while working as a radiologist.
Zagame, a former lifesaver and ironwoman, has tried every sport under the sun. Her strategy on the island will be to focus on winning challenges and building multiple relationships while positioning herself in the middle of a strong alliance.
Zagame said her experience in water polo would help her strategise and play people.
“I was born with a competitiveness. When I was a kid, I would race my parents and brother eating at the dinner table. I don’t know why,” she said.
“People just think water polo is about what goes on above the surface but 90 per cent of it is what happens under the water. It is like being a smiling assassin.
“You have got to be cool above the water but under the water you are throwing punches. I will be using some of those techniques to be the sole survivor.”
The new series launches on Network Ten on July 30.
