Graham King, Class of 1983

I studied French, Law and German at Surrey University and went on to become a solicitor. I am now Chief Legal Officer for Mitsubishi Motors, based in Amsterdam. I am married with three children. I have completed six Iron Man triathlons and swam the Channel in 2013. I played water polo for the Amsterdam Dolphins for 15 years. I keep fit now by swimming in open water all year round.

What initially drew you to water polo, and when did you start playing?

I was a member of a swimming club from a very young age, so it was natural to want to make use of the great pool at Trinity and try an exciting new sport. I started playing when I went to Trinity in 1976.

How did you balance your academic and athletic commitments during your time as a student-athlete?

There always seemed to be plenty of time to work and play sports and the school encouraged us to get involved with all activities.

Can you share a memorable moment or game from your water polo career?

Training with the Greek team in the lead-up to the Youth European Championships in Istanbul in 1983 and trying to mark their centre forward – it didn’t matter how many of us held his arms or tried to tackle him, he invariably scored. We affectionately called him “steel balls” for obvious reasons . . .

What specific skills or attributes do you think contributed most to your success in water polo?

Swimming stamina from my early days and leveraging off decent ball skills acquired from all the other sports we did at school (rugby, cricket, etc).

How did you overcome setbacks or failures along the way?

We lost to the City of London School every year in the qualification rounds for the national championships – so we never got the chance to win the national finals like Jerry Bedwell’s great team had done. I suppose we picked ourselves up each time and kept going.

Can you describe the camaraderie and team dynamics within your water polo team?

My memory is of having good fun in our team, made up from a quality bunch: Keith Long (RIP) from the year above; Ian Long, Phil Bone, Trevor Moss, Dave Knight, Paul Petty, Dave Luckman and Guy Rowcliffe from our year; and Graeme McLeod, Hugh Richards and Ian Lance from the year below.

What role did your coaches play in your development as a water polo player?

I would not have achieved anything without the support, training and encouragement given by Ian Marsh.

What changes would you like to see in the development of water polo, particularly at the grassroots level?

Since water polo is such a great and demanding sport in requiring and combining extreme physical fitness with the necessary ball skills, it would be good to see it becoming more accessible to all kids - helped by more schools having their own swimming pools or by making public pools more available for training.

What were some of the most memorable lessons you learnt from your water polo career?

The main lesson was how fit you need to be and how organised and dedicated you must be to achieve at top-level sport.

How has your experience in water polo influenced your life beyond the pool?

It has made me fearless in water in all conditions and enabled me to swim throughout the year in open water.