Jenny Whittle

Jenny Whittle is an outstanding example of raw talent in Queensland basketball being able to reach the pinnacle of our sport. Jenny was a late comer to basketball but her rise to national attention was spectacular. Shortly after playing in the under 18 nationals she was selected to play in the 1993 World Championship for Junior women where she won a gold medal.

The following year she was chosen for the Opals in the 1994 World Championship for women where Australia’s young team finished fourth. Jenny was to play for the Opals for the next decade.At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics the Opals won the bronze medal the first international medal for Australian basketball at a senior level. Jenny also won a Bronze medal at the 1998 World Championships.  At the 2000 Sydney Olympics Jenny and the Opals won the silver medal and the claimed the Bronze medal at the 2002 World Championships in China after which Jenny announced her retirement from international Competition.

Accordingly Jenny was not initially selected for the 2006 Opals but Coach Tom Maher encouraged her to suspend her retirement which saw her named co-captain of the Opals with Lauren Jackson to win Gold at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. Later that year again as co-captain Jenny played for the Opals in the World Championships in Brazil where they secured Australia’s first Gold medal at the world level. When Lauren Jackson was presented with the World Championship trophy she walked down the line to present it to Jenny.

In addition to her Opals record Jenny played almost 300 Games in the WNBL for the AIS, Brisbane Blazers, Perth Breakers, Bullen Boomers, Canberra Capitals and Adelaide Lightening. Jenny played for the Washington Mystics in 1999 but put her career on hold to return to Australia for train with the Opals prior to the Sydney Olympics after which she returned to Washington but played on a handful more games before succumbing to injury.

She returned to the court to play in Europe until 2010 playing in the Spanish, French and Hungarian Leagues. Jenny is a Life member of the WNBL, was inducted in the Gold Coast Sporting Hall of Fame in 2013 and in 2016 was inducted into the Australian basketball Hall of Fame.