Water polo at the Summer Olympics

Water polo has been part of the Summer Olympics program since the second games, in 1900. A women's water polo tournament was introduced for the 2000 Summer Olympics. Hungary has been the most successful country in men's tournament, while the United States is the only team to win multiple times at the women's tournament since its introduction. Italy is the first and only country to win both the men's and women's water polo tournaments.

Water polo at the Summer Olympics

IOC Discipline Code	WPO
Governing body	FINA
Events	2 (men: 1; women: 1)
Games
1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Note: demonstration or exhibition sport years indicated in italics
Medalists men women
Overall statistics (men • women) Champions (men • women) Team appearances (men • women) Player appearances (men • women) Top goalscorers (men • women) Goalkeepers (men • women) Flag bearers and oath takers Venues

Water polo at the 2004 Summer Olympics

History

The history of water polo as a team sport began in mid 19th century England and Scotland, where water sports were a feature of county fairs and festivals.^[1]^[2] Water polo has been included in every Summer Olympic Games as a men's competition sport, except 1896. Women's water polo made its debut in the Summer Olympics in 2000.

Beginnings

Water polo final at the 1908 London Olympics

Men's water polo was among the first team sports introduced at the modern Olympic Games in 1900.^[3] Seven European teams from four countries, including four from the host nation France, took part in the competition. The British team was the inaugural champion.^[4]

At the 1904 Summer Olympics, a water polo tournament was contested, three club teams of seven players each entered.^[5] A German team tried to enter, but its entry was refused because the players did not play for the same club.^[6] The event took place in a pond in Forest Park, the location of both the Olympics and the World's Fair.^[7] Previously, the International Olympic Committee and International Swimming Federation (FINA) considered the water polo event at the 1904 Olympics as a demonstration sport.^[5] However, in July 2021, after accepting the recommendation of Olympic historian Bill Mallon, the IOC recognized water polo along with several others as an official sport of the 1904 Olympic program.^[8] Water polo was not played at the 1906 Olympics.^[3]

From 1908 to 1920, the Great Britain men's national water polo team won three consecutive gold medals at the Olympics, becoming the first water polo team to have an Olympic winning streak (winning three or more Olympic titles in a row).

Hungarian dominance

Hungary men's national water polo team has participated in 22 of 27 Olympic tournaments, with fifteen Olympic medals (nine gold, three silver and three bronze). From 1928 to 1980, the Hungarians won twelve consecutive medals in water polo. Twenty years later, the team won three golds in a row between 2000 and 2008, becoming the second team to have an Olympic winning streak in water polo.

Blood in the Water match

The most famous water polo match in Olympic history often referred to as the Blood in the Water match, was a 1956 Summer Olympics semi-final match between Hungary and the Soviet Union, played in Melbourne on 6 December 1956. As the athletes left for the games, the Hungarian revolution began, and the Soviet army crushed the uprising. The match was bloody and violent. The Hungarians defeated the Soviets 4–0 before the game was called off in the final minute to prevent angry Hungarians in the crowd reacting to Soviet player Valentin Prokopov punching Hungarian player Ervin Zádor. Pictures of Zádor's injuries were published around the world, leading to the "Blood in the Water" moniker.^[9]

The Hungarians went on to win the Olympic gold medal by defeating Yugoslavia 2–1 in the final.

Addition of women's program

Women's water polo became an Olympic sport at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Six nations competed in the women's tournament with home team Australia winning the gold medal over the United States.

From 2012 to 2021, the United States women's team won three consecutive gold medals at the Summer Olympics, becoming the first women's water polo team to have an Olympic winning streak.

Geography

Water polo is now popular in many countries around the world, notably Europe (particularly in Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Spain), Australia, Brazil, Canada and the United States.

As of the 2020 Summer Olympics, 51 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) from six continents have sent their water polo teams to the Olympic Games. Men's water polo teams of European NOCs won all 27 official tournaments, while women's teams from Europe, North America and Oceania won all six gold medals. Water polo teams from Africa, Asia and South America have not won an Olympic medal yet.

Venues

Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center was used at the 2020 Olympics in water polo.

For the Summer Olympics, there are 34 venues that have been or will be used for water polo.

The Seine in Paris hosted the first water polo competitions at the 1900 Olympics. The Forest Park in St. Louis hosted the water polo events for the 1904 Summer Olympics.

The first water polo venue not located on a river or a lake took place at the 1908 London Olympics. It was not until the 1920 Olympics that a separate venue was created for the aquatic venues. The 1948 Games were the first Olympics in which water polo took place both indoors and in more than one venue. The first separate water polo venue that was not connected to other aquatic venues was at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

The Water Polo Arena of the 2012 London Olympics was the first dedicated water polo venue to be built for an Olympics, the structure was taken down after the games.

Paris 1900: Seine, Paris
St. Louis 1904: Forest Park, St. Louis
London 1908: White City Stadium, White City
Stockholm 1912: Djurgårdsbrunnsviken, Stockholm
Antwerp 1920: Stade Nautique d'Antwerp, Antwerp
Paris 1924: Piscine des Tourelles, Paris
Amsterdam 1928: Olympic Sports Park Swim Stadium, Amsterdam
Los Angeles 1932: Swimming Stadium, Los Angeles
Berlin 1936: Olympic Swimming Stadium, Berlin
London 1948: Empire Pool (final), Wembley; and Finchley Lido, North Finchley
Helsinki 1952: Swimming Stadium, Helsinki
Melbourne 1956: Swimming/Diving Stadium, Melbourne
Rome 1960: Piscina delle Rose and Stadio Olimpico del Nuoto (final), both in Rome
Tokyo 1964: Tokyo Metropolitan Indoor Swimming Pool, Tokyo
Mexico City 1968: Francisco Márquez Olympic Pool (final) and University City Swimming Pool, both in Mexico City
Munich 1972: Dantebad and Schwimmhalle (final), both in Munich
Montreal 1976: Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard and Olympic Pool (final), both in Montreal
Moscow 1980: Swimming Pool - Moscow and Swimming Pool - Olimpiysky (final), both in Moscow
Los Angeles 1984: Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool, Malibu, California
Seoul 1988: Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool, Seoul
Barcelona 1992: Piscina Municipal de Montjuïc and Piscines Bernat Picornell (final), both in Barcelona
Atlanta 1996: Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, Atlanta
Sydney 2000: Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre, Ryde; and Sydney International Aquatic Centre, Sydney
Athens 2004: Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre, Athens
Beijing 2008: Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing
London 2012: Water Polo Arena, London
Rio de Janeiro 2016: Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre and Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro
Tokyo 2020: Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center, Tokyo

Sources:

Official Reports (PDF): 1900–1996;
Official Results Books (PDF): 2000–2016;
Olympedia: Water polo venues.

Events

Notes: The X indicates that the tournament was held as a full Olympic medal sport.; The bullet (•) denotes that it was contested as an unofficial sport.

Event	96	00	04	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Games
Men's tournament		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	28
Women's tournament																								X	X	X	X	X	X	6

Total	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2

Rules

Qualification

Since 2012, the qualifying process consists of five stages:

The team of the host nation qualifies automatically.
No more than one team qualifies as the top team in the FINA World League.
No more than three teams qualify as the top teams in the World Aquatics Championships.
No more than five teams qualify as the continental Olympic qualification tournament champions.
No more than four teams qualify through a world qualifying tournament, in which the best teams which did not qualify directly from each continent compete for the remaining berths.

**Men's qualification**
Stage	Zone	Tournament	Berths
Stage	Zone	Tournament	2012	2016	2020
1	—	Host nation	1 (from Europe)	1 (from Americas)	1 (from Asia)
2	World – FINA	FINA Water Polo World League	1	1	1
3	World – FINA	World Aquatics Championships	3	2	2
4	Africa – CANA	African Continental Selection	0	0	1
	Americas – UANA	Pan American Games	1	1	1
	Asia – AASF	Asian Water Polo Championship	1	1	1
	Europe – LEN	European Water Polo Championship	0	1	1
	Oceania – OSA	Oceanian Continental Selection	1	1	1
5	World – FINA	World Qualification Tournament	4	4	3
Total			12	12	12

**Women's qualification**
Stage	Zone	Tournament	Berths
Stage	Zone	Tournament	2012	2016	2020
1	—	Host nation	1 (from Europe)	1 (from Americas)	1 (from Asia)
2	World – FINA	FINA Water Polo World League	0	0	1
3	World – FINA	World Aquatics Championships	0	0	1
4	Africa – CANA	African Continental Selection	0	0	1
	Americas – UANA	Pan American Games	1	0	1
	Asia – AASF	Asian Water Polo Championship	1	1	1
	Europe – LEN	European Water Polo Championship	0	1	1
	Oceania – OSA	Oceanian Continental Selection	1	1	1
5	World – FINA	World Qualification Tournament	4	4	2
Total			8	8	10

Players

Eligibility

According to the FINA General Rules,^[10] the list below shows the requirements for a player to be eligible to play in international tournaments:

"GR 1.1: All competitors shall be registered with their National Federation to be eligible to compete."
"GR 2.5: When a competitor or competition official represents his/her country in a competition, he/she shall be a citizen, whether by birth or naturalisation, of the nation he/she represents, provided that a naturalised citizen shall have lived in that country for at least one year prior to that competition. Competitors, who have more than one nationality according to the laws of the respective nations must choose one 'Sport Nationality'. This choice shall be exercised by the first representation of the competitor for one of the countries."
"GR 2.6: Any competitor or competition official changing his sport nationality from one national governing body to another must have resided in the territory of and been under the jurisdiction of the latter for at least twelve months prior to his first representation for the country."

Competition format

For both the men's and women's tournaments at the 2020 Olympics (which was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic),^[11] the competition consists of a round-robin group stage followed by a knockout stage. Teams are placed into two groups, with each team playing each other team in its group once. Teams earn 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. The top four teams in each group advance to the knockout rounds. The knockout rounds are a single-elimination tournament consisting of quarterfinals, semifinals, and the gold and bronze medal matches.

Matches consist of four quarters of eight minutes each. During the knockout rounds, if the score is tied after four quarters (32 minutes), penalty shootouts, which is 5 rounds, plus extra rounds if tied, are used to determine the winner.

**Men's tournament**
#	Year	Dates	Number of		Competition format
#	Year	Dates	Teams	Matches	Competition format
1	1900	11–12 August	7 teams	6 matches	Single-elimination tournament
2	1904	5–6 September	3 teams	2 matches
3	1908	15–22 July	4 teams	4 matches
4	1912	7–16 July	6 teams	10 matches
5	1920	22–29 August	12 teams	19 matches	Single-elimination tournament; Bergvall system for second- and third-place
6	1924	13–20 July	13 teams	19 matches
7	1928	4–11 August	14 teams	18 matches	Single-elimination tournament; Bergvall system for third-place
8	1932	4–13 August	5 teams	8 matches^[a]	Round-robin tournament
9	1936	8–15 August	16 teams	40 matches	Round-robin pools advanced teams to the round-robin semi-final pool; round-robin semi-final pools advanced teams to the round-robin final pool
10	1948	28 July – 7 August	18 teams	40 matches^[b]	Series of round-robin elimination pools, followed by round-robin semi-final pools, and then round-robin final pools
11	1952	25 July – 2 August	21 teams	56 matches^[c]	Single-elimination tournament qualifying; round-robin pools advanced teams to the round-robin semi-final pool; round-robin semi-final pools advanced teams to the round-robin final pool
12	1956	28 November – 7 December	10 teams	29 matches	Round-robin pools advanced teams to the round-robin final pool
13	1960	25 August – 3 September	16 teams	40 matches	Round-robin pools advanced teams to the round-robin semi-final pool; round-robin semi-final pools advanced teams to the round-robin final pool
14	1964	11–18 October	13 teams	31 matches
15	1968	14–26 October	15 teams	63 matches	Round-robin pools advanced teams to classification matches
16	1972	27 August – 4 September	16 teams	59 matches	Round-robin pools advanced teams to the round-robin final pool
17	1976	18–27 July	12 teams	48 matches
18	1980	20–29 July	12 teams	48 matches
19	1984	1–10 August	12 teams	42 matches
20	1988	21 September – 1 October	12 teams	42 matches	Round-robin pools advanced teams to classification matches
21	1992	1–9 August	12 teams	42 matches
22	1996	20–28 July	12 teams	48 matches
23	2000	23 September – 1 October	12 teams	48 matches
24	2004	15–29 August	12 teams	44 matches
25	2008	10–24 August	12 teams	44 matches
26	2012	29 July – 12 August	12 teams	42 matches
27	2016	6–20 August	12 teams	42 matches
28	2020	25 July – 8 August 2021^[11]	12 teams	42 matches
#	Year	Dates	Teams	Matches	Competition format
#	Year	Dates	Number of		Competition format

**Women's tournament**
#	Year	Dates	Number of		Competition format
#	Year	Dates	Teams	Matches	Competition format
1	2000	16–23 September	6 teams	20 matches	Round-robin pools advanced teams to classification matches
2	2004	16–26 August	8 teams	20 matches
3	2008	11–21 August	8 teams	20 matches
4	2012	30 July – 9 August	8 teams	24 matches
5	2016	9–19 August	8 teams	24 matches
6	2020	24 July – 7 August 2021^[11]	10 teams	32 matches

Sources:

Official Reports (PDF): 1900–1996;
Official Results Books (PDF): 2000–2016;
Olympedia: 1900–2016;
Sports Reference: 1900–2016.

Game rules

Maximum number of players per team

**Men's tournament**
	Maximum number of players
	1900–1904	1908–1980	1984–2016	2020–
In the playing area of the pool during an Olympic match	7	7	7	7
During an Olympic match	11	11	13	12^[12]
During an Olympic tournament	11	11	13	13^[12]
	per club	per nation	per nation	per nation

**Women's tournament**
	Maximum number of players
	2000–2016	2020–
In the playing area of the pool during an Olympic match	7	7
During an Olympic match	13	12^[12]
During an Olympic tournament	13	13^[12]
	per nation	per nation

Sources:

Official Reports (PDF): 1900–1996;
Official Results Books (PDF): 2000–2016.

Anti-doping

The FINA follows the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) regulations on performance-enhancing drugs. According to the WADA, a positive in-competition test results in disqualification of the player and a suspension that varies based on the number of offences. When a player tests positive, the rest of their team is subjected to testing; another positive test can result in a disqualification of the entire team.^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16]

Men's tournament

Results summary

#	Year^[5]	Hosts	Gold medal game			Bronze medal game			Number of teams
#	Year^[5]	Hosts	Gold	Score	Silver	Bronze	Score	4th place	Number of teams
1	1900 Details	Paris	Great Britain (Mixed team) (Osborne Swimming Club)	7–2	Belgium (Brussels Swimming and Water Polo Club)	France (Mixed team) (Libellule de Paris) France (Pupilles de Neptune de Lille #2)	^[d]		7
2	1904 Details	St. Louis	Water polo was an unofficial sport			Water polo was an unofficial sport
3	1908 Details	London	Great Britain	9–2^[e]	Belgium	Sweden	^[f]	Netherlands	4
4	1912 Details	Stockholm	Great Britain	8–0	Sweden	Belgium	5–4	Austria	6
5	1920 Details	Antwerp	Great Britain	3–2	Belgium	Sweden	5–0	United States	12
6	1924 Details	Paris	France	3–0	Belgium	United States	3–2	Sweden	13
7	1928 Details	Amsterdam	Germany	5–2	Hungary	France	8–1	Great Britain	14
8	1932 Details	Los Angeles	Hungary	Round-robin	Germany	United States	Round-robin	Japan	5
9	1936 Details	Berlin	Hungary	Round-robin	Germany	Belgium	Round-robin	France	16
10	1948 Details	London	Italy	Round-robin	Hungary	Netherlands	Round-robin	Belgium	18
11	1952 Details	Helsinki	Hungary	Round-robin	Yugoslavia	Italy	Round-robin	United States	21
12	1956 Details	Melbourne	Hungary	Round-robin	Yugoslavia	Soviet Union	Round-robin	Italy	10
13	1960 Details	Rome	Italy	Round-robin	Soviet Union	Hungary	Round-robin	Yugoslavia	16
14	1964 Details	Tokyo	Hungary	Round-robin	Yugoslavia	Soviet Union	Round-robin	Italy	13
15	1968 Details	Mexico City	Yugoslavia	13–11 (aet)	Soviet Union	Hungary	9–4	Italy	15
16	1972 Details	Munich	Soviet Union	Round-robin	Hungary	United States	Round-robin	West Germany	16
17	1976 Details	Montreal	Hungary	Round-robin	Italy	Netherlands	Round-robin	Romania	12
18	1980 Details	Moscow	Soviet Union	Round-robin	Yugoslavia	Hungary	Round-robin	Spain	12
19	1984 Details	Los Angeles	Yugoslavia	Round-robin	United States	West Germany	Round-robin	Spain	12
20	1988 Details	Seoul	Yugoslavia	9–7 (aet)	United States	Soviet Union	14–13	West Germany	12
21	1992 Details	Barcelona	Italy	9–8 (aet)	Spain	Unified Team^[g]	8–4	United States	12
22	1996 Details	Atlanta	Spain	7–5	Croatia	Italy	20–18 (aet)	Hungary	12
23	2000 Details	Sydney	Hungary	13–6	Russia	FR Yugoslavia^[h]	8–3	Spain	12
24	2004 Details	Athens	Hungary	8–7	Serbia and Montenegro	Russia	6–5	Greece	12
25	2008 Details	Beijing	Hungary	14–10	United States	Serbia	6–4	Montenegro	12
26	2012 Details	London	Croatia	8–6	Italy	Serbia	12–11	Montenegro	12
27	2016 Details	Rio	Serbia	11–7	Croatia	Italy	12–10	Montenegro	12
28	2020 Details	Tokyo	Serbia	13–10	Greece	Hungary	9–5	Spain	12

Sources:

Official Reports (PDF): 1900–1996 (men's tournaments);
Official Results Books (PDF): 2000–2020 (men's tournaments);
Olympedia: 1900–2020 (men's tournaments);
Sports Reference: 1900–2016 (men's tournaments).

Confederation statistics

Best performances by tournament

This is a summary of the best performances of each confederation in each tournament.^[5] Last updated: 8 August 2021.

Note: italic number in header means unofficial tournament was held.

Legend

1^st – Champions
2^nd – Runners-up
3^rd – Third place
4^th – Fourth place
Q – Qualified for forthcoming tournament

Confederation	00	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20
Africa – CANA	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7^th	10^th	—	9^th	12^th	15^th	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	12^th	—	—	—	12^th
Americas – UANA	—	—	—	4^th	3^rd	7^th	3^rd	9^th	10^th	4^th	5^th	7^th	9^th	5^th	3^rd	7^th	5^th	2^nd	2^nd	4^th	7^th	6^th	7^th	2^nd	8^th	10^th	6^th
Asia – AASF	—	—	—	—	—	—	4^th	14^th	12^th	21^st	10^th	14^th	11^th	12^th	15^th	12^th	—	9^th	11^th	—	—	9^th	11^th	12^th	11^th	12^th	10^th
Europe – LEN	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st	1^st
Oceania – OSA	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	18^th	19^th	9^th	15^th	10^th	—	12^th	11^th	7^th	5^th	8^th	5^th	—	8^th	9^th	8^th	7^th	9^th	9^th
Total teams	7	4	6	12	13	14	5	16	18	21	10	16	13	15	16	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12

Team statistics

Rk	Rank	Ref	Reference	p.	page	pp.	pages

Comprehensive team results by tournament

Note: Results of Olympic qualification tournaments are not included. Numbers refer to the final placing of each team at the respective Games; italic number in header means unofficial tournament was held. Last updated: 8 August 2021.

Legend

1 – Champions
2 – Runners-up
3 – Third place
4 – Fourth place
– Qualified but were not allowed to compete
– Disqualified
— – The nation did not participate in the Games
Q – Qualified for forthcoming tournament
– Hosts
= – More than one team tied for that rank
Team^† – Defunct team

Abbreviation

stats – Olympic water polo team statistics
EUA – United Team of Germany
FRG – West Germany
FRY – FR Yugoslavia
GDR – East Germany
SCG – Serbia and Montenegro

Men's team^[5]	00	04	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Africa – CANA (2 teams)
Egypt (stats)	—	—	—					—		7	10	—	13	12	15			—						12					6
South Africa	—										14		9	—	—	—	—	—	—	—								12	3
Americas – UANA (8 teams)
Men's team^[5]	00	04	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Argentina		—		—			13			10	16		11					—											4
Brazil (stats)	—	—	—	—	6		—	^[a]			9		12	13	13				12								8		8
Canada (stats)																16	9	—	10						11				4
Chile	—	—	—					—		17								—											1
Cuba			—	—	—										8	9	7	5	—	—	8								5
Mexico		—	—	—	—						18				11	13	10												4
United States (stats)					4	3	7	3	9	11	4	5	7	9	5	3		—	2	2	4	7	6	7	2	8	10	6	22
Uruguay	—	—	—	—	—				13	16								—											2
Asia – AASF (7 teams)
Men's team^[5]	00	04	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
PR China	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	9	11					12				3
India		—	—	—						12	21																		2
Iran		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—								12	—	—										1
Japan (stats)	—	—	—					4	14	—			14	11	12	15		—	11								12	10	9
Kazakhstan (stats)	—	—	—	—	—	Part of Soviet Union															^[g]		9	11		11		11	4
Singapore	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—			10		—				—											1
South Korea	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—									—		12									1
Europe – LEN (34 teams)
Men's team^[5]	00	04	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Austria				4	—				7		13																		3
Belgium (stats)	2	—	2	3	2	2	6		3	4	6		16	7															11
Bulgaria	—	—	—	—	—			—		—						11		12	—										2
Croatia (stats)	—	—	—	—	Part of Yugoslavia																	2	7	10	6	1	2	5	7
Czechoslovakia^†	—	—	—	—	12	6	10		11										—		12	Defunct							5
East Germany^†	Part of Germany											P. of EUA			6				—		Part of Germany								1
France (stats)	3^[d]	—		6	9	1	3		4	6			10							10	11						11		11
Germany (stats)	=5				—	—	1	2	2	—	15	See EUA			See FRG and GDR						7	9		5	10				9
Great Britain (stats)	1		1	1	1	8	4		8	13	12	7														12			11
Men's team	00	04	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Greece (stats)					8	13				15					14	14		10	8	9	10	6	10	4	7	9	6	2	16
Hungary (stats)				5	—	5	2	1	1	2	1	1	3	1	3	2	1	3	—	5	6	4	1	1	1	5	5	3	23
Iceland	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	15																				1
Ireland	—	—	—	—	—	9	14		—																				2
Italy (stats)		—			10	11				1	3	4	1	4	4	6	2	8	7	7	1	3	5	8	9	2	3	7	21
Luxembourg	—	—	—				11	—																					1
Malta	—	—	—	—	—	—	8	—	16		—	—		—			—												2
Montenegro (stats)	—	—	—	—	Part of Yugoslavia																P. of FRY / SCG				4	4	4	8	4
Men's team	00	04	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Netherlands (stats)		—	4		5	7	5		5	3	5		8	8	7	7	3	6	6		9	10	11						17
Portugal	—	—	—								20																		1
Romania (stats)		—	—	—	—			—		—	17	8	5	5		8	4	9				11				10			9
Russian Federation (stats)	—	—	—	—	—	Part of Soviet Union															^[g]	5	2	3					3
Serbia (stats)	—	—	—		Part of Yugoslavia																P. of FRY / SCG				3	3	1	1	4
Serbia and Montenegro^† (stats)	—	—	—	—	Part of Yugoslavia																See FRY			2	Defunct				1
Slovakia	—	—	—	—	Part of Czechoslovakia																		12						1
Soviet Union^†^[i] (stats)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7	3	2	3	2	1	8	1	—	3	Defunct								9
Spain (stats)		—	—	—	7	10	9		—	8	8	—			9	10		4	4	6	2	1	4	6	5	6	7	4	18
Men's team	00	04	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Sweden (stats)		—	3	2	3	4			6	5	11							11											8
Switzerland					11	12	12		12	14		—																	5
Ukraine	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Part of Soviet Union										^[g]	12							1
Unified Team^†^[g] (stats)	—	—	—	—	—	Part of Soviet Union															3	Defunct							1
United Team of Germany^† (stats)	See Germany											6	6	6	See FRG and GDR						See Germany								3
West Germany^† (stats)	Part of Germany											P. of EUA			10	4	6	—	3	4	Part of Germany								5
Yugoslavia^† (stats)	—	—	—	—					10	9	2	2	4	2	1	5	5	2	1	1	Defunct								12
FR Yugoslavia^†^[h] (stats)	—	—	—	—	Part of Yugoslavia																—	8	3	Defunct					2
Oceania – OSA (1 team)
Men's team^[5]	00	04	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Australia (stats)			—	—						18	19	9	15	10	^[j]	12	11	7	5	8	5		8	9	8	7	9	9	17

Total teams	7		4	6	12	13	14	5	16	18	21	10	16	13	15	16	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12

Finishes in the top four

The following table is pre-sorted by total finishes in the top four (in descending order), number of Olympic gold medals (in descending order), number of Olympic silver medals (in descending order), number of Olympic bronze medals (in descending order), name of the team (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 8 August 2021.

Legend

Year^* – As host team
Team^† – Defunct team

Rk	Men's team^[5]	Total	Champions	Runners-up	Third place	Fourth place	First	Last
1	Hungary	17	9 (1932, 1936, 1952, 1956, 1964, 1976, 2000, 2004, 2008)	3 (1928, 1948, 1972)	4 (1960, 1968, 1980, 2020)	1 (1996)	1928	2020
2	Italy	11	3 (1948, 1960^*, 1992)	2 (1976, 2012)	3 (1952, 1996, 2016)	3 (1956, 1964, 1968)	1948	2016
3	United States	9		3 (1984^*, 1988, 2008)	3 (1924, 1932^*, 1972)	3 (1920, 1952, 1992)	1920	2008
4	Yugoslavia^†	8	3 (1968, 1984, 1988)	4 (1952, 1956, 1964, 1980)		1 (1960)	1952	1988
5	Soviet Union^†	7	2 (1972, 1980^*)	2 (1960, 1968)	3 (1956, 1964, 1988)		1956	1988
6	Belgium	7		4 (1900, 1908, 1920^*, 1924)	2 (1912, 1936)	1 (1948)	1900	1948
7	Spain	6	1 (1996)	1 (1992^*)		4 (1980, 1984, 2000, 2020)	1980	2020
8	Great Britain	5	4 (1900, 1908^*, 1912, 1920)			1 (1928)	1900	1928
9	France	5	1 (1924^*)		3 (1900^*×2^[d], 1928)	1 (1936)	1900	1936
10	Serbia	4	2 (2016, 2020)		2 (2008, 2012)		2008	2020
11	Sweden	4		1 (1912^*)	2 (1908, 1920)	1 (1924)	1908	1924
12	Croatia	3	1 (2012)	2 (1996, 2016)			1996	2016
12	Germany	3	1 (1928)	2 (1932, 1936^*)			1928	1936
14	Netherlands	3			2 (1948, 1976)	1 (1908)	1908	1976
15	West Germany^†	3			1 (1984)	2 (1972^*, 1988)	1972	1988
16	Montenegro	3				3 (2008, 2012, 2016)	2008	2016
17	Russia	2		1 (2000)	1 (2004)		2000	2004
18	Greece	2		1 (2020)		1 (2004^*)	2004	2020
19	Serbia and Montenegro^†	1		1 (2004)			2004	2004
20	FR Yugoslavia^†^[h]	1			1 (2000)		2000	2000
20	Unified Team^†^[g]	1			1 (1992)		1992	1992
22	Austria	1				1 (1912)	1912	1912
	Japan					1 (1932)	1932	1932
	Romania					1 (1976)	1976	1976
Rk	Men's team	Total	Champions	Runners-up	Third place	Fourth place	First	Last

Medal table

The following table is pre-sorted by number of Olympic gold medals (in descending order), number of Olympic silver medals (in descending order), number of Olympic bronze medals (in descending order), name of the team (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 31 December 2021.

Hungary is the most successful country in the men's Olympic water polo tournament, with nine gold, three silver and four bronze.^[5]

Legend

Team^† – Defunct team


Rank	Men's team	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Hungary (HUN)	9	3	4	16
2	Yugoslavia (YUG)^†	3	4	0	7
3	Italy (ITA)	3	2	3	8
4	Great Britain (GBR)^[k]	3	0	0	3
5	Soviet Union (URS)^†	2	2	3	7
6	Serbia (SRB)	2	0	2	4
7	United States (USA)^[l]	1	4	4	9
8	Croatia (CRO)	1	2	0	3
8	Germany (GER)	1	2	0	3
10	Spain (ESP)	1	1	0	2
11	France (FRA)^[d]	1	0	2	3
12	Mixed team (ZZX)^†	1	0	1	2
13	Belgium (BEL)	0	4	2	6
14	Sweden (SWE)	0	1	2	3
15	Russia (RUS)	0	1	1	2
15	Serbia and Montenegro (SCG)^†^[h]	0	1	1	2
17	Greece (GRE)	0	1	0	1
18	Netherlands (NED)	0	0	2	2
19	Unified Team (EUN)^†^[g]	0	0	1	1
19	West Germany (FRG)^†	0	0	1	1
Totals (20 entries)		28	28	29	85

Champions (results, squads)

Champions (results)

Serbia men's national water polo team celebrated after the gold medal match of the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The following table shows results of Olympic champions in men's water polo by tournament. Last updated: 8 August 2021.

Legend

6 – Winning 6 matches during the tournament
4 – Drawing 4 matches during the tournament
2 – Losing 2 matches during the tournament
100.0% – Winning all matches during the tournament
Team – Olympic winning streak (winning three or more Olympic titles in a row)
Team – Host team
Team^† – Defunct team

Abbreviation

MP – Matches played
W – Won
D – Drawn
L – Lost
GF – Goals for
GA – Goals against
GD – Goal difference
GF/MP – Goals for per match
GA/MP – Goals against per match
GD/MP – Goal difference per match

**Results of champions by tournament**
#	Men's tournament	Champions	MP	W	D	L	Win %	GF	GA	GD	GF/MP	GA/MP	GD/MP
1	Paris 1900	Great Britain (1st title)	3	3	0	0	100.0%	29	3	26	9.667	1.000	8.667
2	St. Louis 1904	Water polo was an unofficial sport
3	London 1908	Great Britain (2nd title)	1^[e]	1	0	0	100.0%	9	2	7	9.000	2.000	7.000
4	Stockholm 1912	Great Britain (3rd title)	3	3	0	0	100.0%	21	8	13	7.000	2.667	4.333
5	Antwerp 1920	Great Britain (4th title)	3	3	0	0	100.0%	19	4	15	6.333	1.333	5.000
6	Paris 1924	France (1st title)	4	4	0	0	100.0%	16	6	10	4.000	1.500	2.500
7	Amsterdam 1928	Germany (1st title)	3	3	0	0	100.0%	18	10	8	6.000	3.333	2.667
8	Los Angeles 1932	Hungary (1st title)	3^[a]	3	0	0	100.0%	30	2	28	10.000	0.667	9.333
9	Berlin 1936	Hungary (2nd title)	7	6	1	0	85.7%	44	4	40	6.286	0.571	5.714
10	London 1948	Italy (1st title)	7^[b]	6	1	0	85.7%	35	14	21	5.000	2.000	3.000
11	Helsinki 1952	Hungary (3rd title)	8	6	2	0	75.0%	53	16	37	6.625	2.000	4.625
12	Melbourne 1956	Hungary (4th title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%	26	4	22	4.333	0.667	3.667
13	Rome 1960	Italy (2nd title)	7	6	1	0	85.7%	31	12	19	4.429	1.714	2.714
14	Tokyo 1964	Hungary (5th title)	6	5	1	0	83.3%	34	13	21	5.667	2.167	3.500
15	Mexico City 1968	Yugoslavia^† (1st title)	9	7	1	1	77.8%	86	35	51	9.556	3.889	5.667
16	Munich 1972	Soviet Union^† (1st title)	8	6	2	0	75.0%	48	24	24	6.000	3.000	3.000
17	Montreal 1976	Hungary (6th title)	8	7	1	0	87.5%	45	32	13	5.625	4.000	1.625
18	Moscow 1980	Soviet Union^† (2nd title)	8	8	0	0	100.0%	58	31	27	7.250	3.875	3.375
19	Los Angeles 1984	Yugoslavia^† (2nd title)	7	6	1	0	85.7%	72	44	28	10.286	6.286	4.000
20	Seoul 1988	Yugoslavia^† (3rd title)	7	6	0	1	85.7%	83	55	28	11.857	7.857	4.000
21	Barcelona 1992	Italy (3rd title)	7	5	2	0	71.4%	59	50	9	8.429	7.143	1.286
22	Atlanta 1996	Spain (1st title)	8	6	0	2	75.0%	58	48	10	7.250	6.000	1.250
23	Sydney 2000	Hungary (7th title)	8	6	0	2	75.0%	78	57	21	9.750	7.125	2.625
24	Athens 2004	Hungary (8th title)	7	7	0	0	100.0%	59	39	20	8.429	5.571	2.857
25	Beijing 2008	Hungary (9th title)	7	6	1	0	85.7%	85	55	30	12.143	7.857	4.286
26	London 2012	Croatia (1st title)	8	8	0	0	100.0%	73	42	31	9.125	5.250	3.875
27	Rio 2016	Serbia (1st title)	8	5	2	1	62.5%	80	66	14	10.000	8.250	1.750
28	Tokyo 2020	Serbia (2nd title)	8	6	0	2	75.0%	103	71	32	12.875	8.875	4.000
#	Men's tournament	Total	169	144	16	9	85.2%	1352	747	605	8.000	4.420	3.580
#	Men's tournament	Champions	MP	W	D	L	Win %	GF	GA	GD	GF/MP	GA/MP	GD/MP

Sources:

Official Reports (PDF): 1900–1996 (men's tournaments);
Official Results Books (PDF): 2000 (pp. 45–92), 2004 (p. 207), 2008 (p. 202), 2012 (p. 471), 2016 (p. 131), 2020 (p. 150);
Olympedia: 1900–2020 (men's tournaments);
Sports Reference: 1900–2016 (men's tournaments).

Champions (squads)
The following table shows number of players and average age, height and weight of Olympic champions in men's water polo by tournament. Last updated: 30 August 2021.

Legend

Team – Olympic winning streak
Team – Winning all matches during the tournament
Team – Host team
Team^† – Defunct team

**Winning squads by tournament**
#	Men's tournament	Champions	Players	Returning Olympians		Average
#	Men's tournament	Champions	Number	Number	%	Age	Height	Weight
1	Paris 1900	May 04, 2023 Latest articles January 01, 1970 Gymnastics pommel horse January 01, 1970 Gypsum January 01, 1970 Gypsum Springs Formation January 01, 1970 Gypsy (1937 film) January 01, 1970 Gypsy Cowboy January 01, 1970 Gyrodyne Company of America January 01, 1970 Györffy György January 01, 1970 György Kepes January 01, 1970 György Kárpáti January 01, 1970 György Lukács Most Read January 01, 1970 Blowback (arms) January 01, 1970 Blows Against the Empire January 01, 1970 Blowup January 01, 1970 Blouse January 01, 1970 Blériot Aéronautique water, polo, summer, olympics, water, polo, been, part, summer, olympics, program, since, second, games, 1900, women, water, polo, tournament, introduced, 2000, summer, olympics, hungary, been, most, successful, country, tournament, while, united, states, only. Water polo has been part of the Summer Olympics program since the second games in 1900 A women s water polo tournament was introduced for the 2000 Summer Olympics Hungary has been the most successful country in men s tournament while the United States is the only team to win multiple times at the women s tournament since its introduction Italy is the first and only country to win both the men s and women s water polo tournaments Water polo at the Summer OlympicsIOC Discipline CodeWPOGoverning bodyFINAEvents2 men 1 women 1 Games1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 19201924 1928 1932 1936 1948 19521956 1960 1964 1968 1972 19761980 1984 1988 1992 1996 20002004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024Note demonstration or exhibition sport years indicated in italicsMedalists men womenOverall statistics men women Champions men women Team appearances men women Player appearances men women Top goalscorers men women Goalkeepers men women Flag bearers and oath takersVenuesWater polo at the 2004 Summer Olympics Contents 1 History 1 1 Beginnings 1 2 Hungarian dominance 1 2 1 Blood in the Water match 1 3 Addition of women s program 2 Geography 3 Venues 4 Events 5 Rules 5 1 Qualification 5 2 Players 5 2 1 Eligibility 5 3 Competition format 5 4 Game rules 5 4 1 Maximum number of players per team 5 5 Anti doping 6 Men s tournament 6 1 Results summary 6 2 Confederation statistics 6 2 1 Best performances by tournament 6 3 Team statistics 6 3 1 Comprehensive team results by tournament 6 3 2 Finishes in the top four 6 3 3 Medal table 6 3 4 Champions results squads 6 3 5 Team records 6 4 Player statistics 6 4 1 Multiple appearances five time Olympians 6 4 2 Multiple medalists 6 4 3 Multiple gold medalists 6 4 4 Top goalscorers one match one tournament all time 6 4 5 Top goalkeepers one match one tournament all time 6 5 Coach statistics 6 5 1 Most successful coaches 6 5 2 Medals as coach and player 7 Women s tournament 7 1 Results summary 7 2 Confederation statistics 7 2 1 Best performances by tournament 7 3 Team statistics 7 3 1 Comprehensive team results by tournament 7 3 2 Finishes in the top four 7 3 3 Medal table 7 3 4 Champions results squads 7 3 5 Team records 7 4 Player statistics 7 4 1 Multiple appearances four time Olympians 7 4 2 Multiple medalists 7 4 3 Multiple gold medalists 7 4 4 Top goalscorers one match one tournament all time 7 4 5 Top goalkeepers one match one tournament all time 7 5 Coach statistics 7 5 1 Most successful coaches 7 5 2 Medals as coach and player 8 Overall medal table 8 1 Winning two medals in one edition of the Games 9 Water polo people at the opening and closing ceremonies 9 1 Flag bearers 9 2 Oath takers 10 See also 11 Notes 12 References 13 Sources 13 1 Official Reports IOC 13 2 Official Results Books IOC 13 3 Official Reports FINA 13 4 Official website IOC 13 5 Olympedia 13 6 Sports Reference 13 7 Todor66 14 External linksHistory EditMain article History of water polo The history of water polo as a team sport began in mid 19th century England and Scotland where water sports were a feature of county fairs and festivals 1 2 Water polo has been included in every Summer Olympic Games as a men s competition sport except 1896 Women s water polo made its debut in the Summer Olympics in 2000 Beginnings Edit Water polo final at the 1908 London Olympics Men s water polo was among the first team sports introduced at the modern Olympic Games in 1900 3 Seven European teams from four countries including four from the host nation France took part in the competition The British team was the inaugural champion 4 At the 1904 Summer Olympics a water polo tournament was contested three club teams of seven players each entered 5 A German team tried to enter but its entry was refused because the players did not play for the same club 6 The event took place in a pond in Forest Park the location of both the Olympics and the World s Fair 7 Previously the International Olympic Committee and International Swimming Federation FINA considered the water polo event at the 1904 Olympics as a demonstration sport 5 However in July 2021 after accepting the recommendation of Olympic historian Bill Mallon the IOC recognized water polo along with several others as an official sport of the 1904 Olympic program 8 Water polo was not played at the 1906 Olympics 3 From 1908 to 1920 the Great Britain men s national water polo team won three consecutive gold medals at the Olympics becoming the first water polo team to have an Olympic winning streak winning three or more Olympic titles in a row Hungarian dominance Edit Hungary men s national water polo team has participated in 22 of 27 Olympic tournaments with fifteen Olympic medals nine gold three silver and three bronze From 1928 to 1980 the Hungarians won twelve consecutive medals in water polo Twenty years later the team won three golds in a row between 2000 and 2008 becoming the second team to have an Olympic winning streak in water polo Blood in the Water match Edit Main article Blood in the Water match The most famous water polo match in Olympic history often referred to as the Blood in the Water match was a 1956 Summer Olympics semi final match between Hungary and the Soviet Union played in Melbourne on 6 December 1956 As the athletes left for the games the Hungarian revolution began and the Soviet army crushed the uprising The match was bloody and violent The Hungarians defeated the Soviets 4 0 before the game was called off in the final minute to prevent angry Hungarians in the crowd reacting to Soviet player Valentin Prokopov punching Hungarian player Ervin Zador Pictures of Zador s injuries were published around the world leading to the Blood in the Water moniker 9 The Hungarians went on to win the Olympic gold medal by defeating Yugoslavia 2 1 in the final Addition of women s program Edit Women s water polo became an Olympic sport at the 2000 Sydney Olympics Six nations competed in the women s tournament with home team Australia winning the gold medal over the United States From 2012 to 2021 the United States women s team won three consecutive gold medals at the Summer Olympics becoming the first women s water polo team to have an Olympic winning streak Geography EditMain article Geography of water polo Water polo is now popular in many countries around the world notably Europe particularly in Croatia France Germany Greece Hungary Italy Malta Montenegro the Netherlands Romania Russia Serbia and Spain Australia Brazil Canada and the United States As of the 2020 Summer Olympics 51 National Olympic Committees NOCs from six continents have sent their water polo teams to the Olympic Games Men s water polo teams of European NOCs won all 27 official tournaments while women s teams from Europe North America and Oceania won all six gold medals Water polo teams from Africa Asia and South America have not won an Olympic medal yet Venues Edit Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center was used at the 2020 Olympics in water polo Main article List of Olympic venues in water polo For the Summer Olympics there are 34 venues that have been or will be used for water polo The Seine in Paris hosted the first water polo competitions at the 1900 Olympics The Forest Park in St Louis hosted the water polo events for the 1904 Summer Olympics The first water polo venue not located on a river or a lake took place at the 1908 London Olympics It was not until the 1920 Olympics that a separate venue was created for the aquatic venues The 1948 Games were the first Olympics in which water polo took place both indoors and in more than one venue The first separate water polo venue that was not connected to other aquatic venues was at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics The Water Polo Arena of the 2012 London Olympics was the first dedicated water polo venue to be built for an Olympics the structure was taken down after the games Paris 1900 Seine Paris St Louis 1904 Forest Park St Louis London 1908 White City Stadium White City Stockholm 1912 Djurgardsbrunnsviken Stockholm Antwerp 1920 Stade Nautique d Antwerp Antwerp Paris 1924 Piscine des Tourelles Paris Amsterdam 1928 Olympic Sports Park Swim Stadium Amsterdam Los Angeles 1932 Swimming Stadium Los Angeles Berlin 1936 Olympic Swimming Stadium Berlin London 1948 Empire Pool final Wembley and Finchley Lido North Finchley Helsinki 1952 Swimming Stadium Helsinki Melbourne 1956 Swimming Diving Stadium Melbourne Rome 1960 Piscina delle Rose and Stadio Olimpico del Nuoto final both in Rome Tokyo 1964 Tokyo Metropolitan Indoor Swimming Pool Tokyo Mexico City 1968 Francisco Marquez Olympic Pool final and University City Swimming Pool both in Mexico City Munich 1972 Dantebad and Schwimmhalle final both in Munich Montreal 1976 Complexe sportif Claude Robillard and Olympic Pool final both in Montreal Moscow 1980 Swimming Pool Moscow and Swimming Pool Olimpiysky final both in Moscow Los Angeles 1984 Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool Malibu California Seoul 1988 Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool Seoul Barcelona 1992 Piscina Municipal de Montjuic and Piscines Bernat Picornell final both in Barcelona Atlanta 1996 Georgia Tech Aquatic Center Atlanta Sydney 2000 Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre Ryde and Sydney International Aquatic Centre Sydney Athens 2004 Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre Athens Beijing 2008 Ying Tung Natatorium Beijing London 2012 Water Polo Arena London Rio de Janeiro 2016 Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre and Olympic Aquatics Stadium Rio de Janeiro Tokyo 2020 Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center Tokyo Sources Official Reports PDF 1900 1996 Official Results Books PDF 2000 2016 Olympedia Water polo venues Events EditNotes The X indicates that the tournament was held as a full Olympic medal sport The bullet denotes that it was contested as an unofficial sport Event 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 GamesMen s tournament X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 28Women s tournament X X X X X X 6Total 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2Rules EditQualification Edit Since 2012 the qualifying process consists of five stages The team of the host nation qualifies automatically No more than one team qualifies as the top team in the FINA World League No more than three teams qualify as the top teams in the World Aquatics Championships No more than five teams qualify as the continental Olympic qualification tournament champions No more than four teams qualify through a world qualifying tournament in which the best teams which did not qualify directly from each continent compete for the remaining berths Men s qualification Stage Zone Tournament Berths2012 2016 20201 Host nation 1 fromEurope 1 fromAmericas 1 fromAsia 2 World FINA FINA Water Polo World League 1 1 1 3 World FINA World Aquatics Championships 3 2 2 4 Africa CANA African Continental Selection 0 0 1 Americas UANA Pan American Games 1 1 1 Asia AASF Asian Water Polo Championship 1 1 1 Europe LEN European Water Polo Championship 0 1 1 Oceania OSA Oceanian Continental Selection 1 1 1 5 World FINA World Qualification Tournament 4 4 3 Total 12 12 12 Women s qualification Stage Zone Tournament Berths2012 2016 20201 Host nation 1 fromEurope 1 fromAmericas 1 fromAsia 2 World FINA FINA Water Polo World League 0 0 1 3 World FINA World Aquatics Championships 0 0 1 4 Africa CANA African Continental Selection 0 0 1 Americas UANA Pan American Games 1 0 1 Asia AASF Asian Water Polo Championship 1 1 1 Europe LEN European Water Polo Championship 0 1 1 Oceania OSA Oceanian Continental Selection 1 1 1 5 World FINA World Qualification Tournament 4 4 2 Total 8 8 10 Players Edit Eligibility Edit According to the FINA General Rules 10 the list below shows the requirements for a player to be eligible to play in international tournaments GR 1 1 All competitors shall be registered with their National Federation to be eligible to compete GR 2 5 When a competitor or competition official represents his her country in a competition he she shall be a citizen whether by birth or naturalisation of the nation he she represents provided that a naturalised citizen shall have lived in that country for at least one year prior to that competition Competitors who have more than one nationality according to the laws of the respective nations must choose one Sport Nationality This choice shall be exercised by the first representation of the competitor for one of the countries GR 2 6 Any competitor or competition official changing his sport nationality from one national governing body to another must have resided in the territory of and been under the jurisdiction of the latter for at least twelve months prior to his first representation for the country Competition format Edit For both the men s and women s tournaments at the 2020 Olympics which was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID 19 pandemic 11 the competition consists of a round robin group stage followed by a knockout stage Teams are placed into two groups with each team playing each other team in its group once Teams earn 2 points for a win 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss The top four teams in each group advance to the knockout rounds The knockout rounds are a single elimination tournament consisting of quarterfinals semifinals and the gold and bronze medal matches Matches consist of four quarters of eight minutes each During the knockout rounds if the score is tied after four quarters 32 minutes penalty shootouts which is 5 rounds plus extra rounds if tied are used to determine the winner Men s tournament Year Dates Number of Competition formatTeams Matches1 1900 11 12 August 7 teams 6 matches Single elimination tournament2 1904 5 6 September 3 teams 2 matches 3 1908 15 22 July 4 teams 4 matches 4 1912 7 16 July 6 teams 10 matches 5 1920 22 29 August 12 teams 19 matches Single elimination tournament Bergvall system for second and third place6 1924 13 20 July 13 teams 19 matches 7 1928 4 11 August 14 teams 18 matches Single elimination tournament Bergvall system for third place8 1932 4 13 August 5 teams 8 matches a Round robin tournament9 1936 8 15 August 16 teams 40 matches Round robin pools advanced teams to the round robin semi final pool round robin semi final pools advanced teams to the round robin final pool10 1948 28 July 7 August 18 teams 40 matches b Series of round robin elimination pools followed by round robin semi final pools and then round robin final pools11 1952 25 July 2 August 21 teams 56 matches c Single elimination tournament qualifying round robin pools advanced teams to the round robin semi final pool round robin semi final pools advanced teams to the round robin final pool12 1956 28 November 7 December 10 teams 29 matches Round robin pools advanced teams to the round robin final pool13 1960 25 August 3 September 16 teams 40 matches Round robin pools advanced teams to the round robin semi final pool round robin semi final pools advanced teams to the round robin final pool14 1964 11 18 October 13 teams 31 matches 15 1968 14 26 October 15 teams 63 matches Round robin pools advanced teams to classification matches16 1972 27 August 4 September 16 teams 59 matches Round robin pools advanced teams to the round robin final pool17 1976 18 27 July 12 teams 48 matches 18 1980 20 29 July 12 teams 48 matches 19 1984 1 10 August 12 teams 42 matches 20 1988 21 September 1 October 12 teams 42 matches Round robin pools advanced teams to classification matches21 1992 1 9 August 12 teams 42 matches 22 1996 20 28 July 12 teams 48 matches 23 2000 23 September 1 October 12 teams 48 matches 24 2004 15 29 August 12 teams 44 matches 25 2008 10 24 August 12 teams 44 matches 26 2012 29 July 12 August 12 teams 42 matches 27 2016 6 20 August 12 teams 42 matches 28 2020 25 July 8 August 2021 11 12 teams 42 matches Year Dates Teams Matches Competition formatNumber ofWomen s tournament Year Dates Number of Competition formatTeams Matches1 2000 16 23 September 6 teams 20 matches Round robin pools advanced teams to classification matches2 2004 16 26 August 8 teams 20 matches 3 2008 11 21 August 8 teams 20 matches 4 2012 30 July 9 August 8 teams 24 matches 5 2016 9 19 August 8 teams 24 matches 6 2020 24 July 7 August 2021 11 10 teams 32 matches Sources Official Reports PDF 1900 1996 Official Results Books PDF 2000 2016 Olympedia 1900 2016 Sports Reference 1900 2016 Game rules Edit Main article Rules of water polo Maximum number of players per team Edit Men s tournament Maximum number of players1900 1904 1908 1980 1984 2016 2020 In the playing area of the pool during an Olympic match 7 7 7 7 During an Olympic match 11 11 13 12 12 During an Olympic tournament 11 11 13 13 12 per club per nation per nation per nationWomen s tournament Maximum number of players2000 2016 2020 In the playing area of the pool during an Olympic match 7 7 During an Olympic match 13 12 12 During an Olympic tournament 13 13 12 per nation per nationSources Official Reports PDF 1900 1996 Official Results Books PDF 2000 2016 Anti doping Edit Main articles Doping at the Olympic Games and List of doping cases in sport The FINA follows the World Anti Doping Agency s WADA regulations on performance enhancing drugs According to the WADA a positive in competition test results in disqualification of the player and a suspension that varies based on the number of offences When a player tests positive the rest of their team is subjected to testing another positive test can result in a disqualification of the entire team 13 14 15 16 Men s tournament EditResults summary Edit Year 5 Hosts Gold medal game Bronze medal game Number of teamsGold Score Silver Bronze Score 4th place1 1900Details Paris Great Britain Mixed team Osborne Swimming Club 7 2 Belgium Brussels Swimming and Water Polo Club France Mixed team Libellule de Paris France Pupilles de Neptune de Lille 2 d 72 1904Details St Louis Water polo was an unofficial sport Water polo was an unofficial sport3 1908Details London Great Britain 9 2 e Belgium Sweden f Netherlands 44 1912Details Stockholm Great Britain 8 0 Sweden Belgium 5 4 Austria 65 1920Details Antwerp Great Britain 3 2 Belgium Sweden 5 0 United States 126 1924Details Paris France 3 0 Belgium United States 3 2 Sweden 137 1928Details Amsterdam Germany 5 2 Hungary France 8 1 Great Britain 148 1932Details Los Angeles Hungary Round robin Germany United States Round robin Japan 59 1936Details Berlin Hungary Round robin Germany Belgium Round robin France 1610 1948Details London Italy Round robin Hungary Netherlands Round robin Belgium 1811 1952Details Helsinki Hungary Round robin Yugoslavia Italy Round robin United States 2112 1956Details Melbourne Hungary Round robin Yugoslavia Soviet Union Round robin Italy 1013 1960Details Rome Italy Round robin Soviet Union Hungary Round robin Yugoslavia 1614 1964Details Tokyo Hungary Round robin Yugoslavia Soviet Union Round robin Italy 1315 1968Details Mexico City Yugoslavia 13 11 aet Soviet Union Hungary 9 4 Italy 1516 1972Details Munich Soviet Union Round robin Hungary United States Round robin West Germany 1617 1976Details Montreal Hungary Round robin Italy Netherlands Round robin Romania 1218 1980Details Moscow Soviet Union Round robin Yugoslavia Hungary Round robin Spain 1219 1984Details Los Angeles Yugoslavia Round robin United States West Germany Round robin Spain 1220 1988Details Seoul Yugoslavia 9 7 aet United States Soviet Union 14 13 West Germany 1221 1992Details Barcelona Italy 9 8 aet Spain Unified Team g 8 4 United States 1222 1996Details Atlanta Spain 7 5 Croatia Italy 20 18 aet Hungary 1223 2000Details Sydney Hungary 13 6 Russia FR Yugoslavia h 8 3 Spain 1224 2004Details Athens Hungary 8 7 Serbia and Montenegro Russia 6 5 Greece 1225 2008Details Beijing Hungary 14 10 United States Serbia 6 4 Montenegro 1226 2012Details London Croatia 8 6 Italy Serbia 12 11 Montenegro 1227 2016Details Rio Serbia 11 7 Croatia Italy 12 10 Montenegro 1228 2020Details Tokyo Serbia 13 10 Greece Hungary 9 5 Spain 12Sources Official Reports PDF 1900 1996 men s tournaments Official Results Books PDF 2000 2020 men s tournaments Olympedia 1900 2020 men s tournaments Sports Reference 1900 2016 men s tournaments Confederation statistics Edit Main article National team appearances in the men s Olympic water polo tournament Confederation statistics Best performances by tournament Edit This section is transcluded from List of men s Olympic water polo tournament records and statistics edit history This is a summary of the best performances of each confederation in each tournament 5 Last updated 8 August 2021 Note italic number in header means unofficial tournament was held Legend 1st Champions 2nd Runners up 3rd Third place 4th Fourth place Q Qualified for forthcoming tournamentConfederation 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20Africa CANA 7th 10th 9th 12th 15th 12th 12thAmericas UANA 4th 3rd 7th 3rd 9th 10th 4th 5th 7th 9th 5th 3rd 7th 5th 2nd 2nd 4th 7th 6th 7th 2nd 8th 10th 6thAsia AASF 4th 14th 12th 21st 10th 14th 11th 12th 15th 12th 9th 11th 9th 11th 12th 11th 12th 10thEurope LEN 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1stOceania OSA 18th 19th 9th 15th 10th 12th 11th 7th 5th 8th 5th 8th 9th 8th 7th 9th 9thTotal teams 7 4 6 12 13 14 5 16 18 21 10 16 13 15 16 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12Team statistics Edit Main article National team appearances in the men s Olympic water polo tournament Rk Rank Ref Reference p page pp pagesComprehensive team results by tournament Edit This section is transcluded from List of men s Olympic water polo tournament records and statistics Comprehensive team results by tournament edit history Note Results of Olympic qualification tournaments are not included Numbers refer to the final placing of each team at the respective Games italic number in header means unofficial tournament was held Last updated 8 August 2021 Legend 1 Champions 2 Runners up 3 Third place 4 Fourth place Qualified but were not allowed to compete Disqualified The nation did not participate in the Games Q Qualified for forthcoming tournament Hosts More than one team tied for that rank Team Defunct team Abbreviationstats Olympic water polo team statistics EUA United Team of Germany FRG West Germany FRY FR Yugoslavia GDR East Germany SCG Serbia and Montenegro Africa CANA 2 teams Men s team 5 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years Egypt stats 7 10 13 12 15 12 6 South Africa 14 9 12 3Americas UANA 8 teams Men s team 5 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years Argentina 13 10 16 11 4 Brazil stats 6 a 9 12 13 13 12 8 8 Canada stats 16 9 10 11 4 Chile 17 1 Cuba 8 9 7 5 8 5 Mexico 18 11 13 10 4 United States stats 4 3 7 3 9 11 4 5 7 9 5 3 2 2 4 7 6 7 2 8 10 6 22 Uruguay 13 16 2Asia AASF 7 teams Men s team 5 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years PR China 9 11 12 3 India 12 21 2 Iran 12 1 Japan stats 4 14 14 11 12 15 11 12 10 9 Kazakhstan stats Part of Soviet Union g 9 11 11 11 4 Singapore 10 1 South Korea 12 1Europe LEN 34 teams Men s team 5 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years Austria 4 7 13 3 Belgium stats 2 2 3 2 2 6 3 4 6 16 7 11 Bulgaria 11 12 2 Croatia stats Part of Yugoslavia 2 7 10 6 1 2 5 7 Czechoslovakia 12 6 10 11 12 Defunct 5 East Germany Part of Germany P of EUA 6 Part of Germany 1 France stats 3 d 6 9 1 3 4 6 10 10 11 11 11 Germany stats 5 1 2 2 15 See EUA See FRG and GDR 7 9 5 10 9 Great Britain stats 1 1 1 1 8 4 8 13 12 7 12 11Men s team 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years Greece stats 8 13 15 14 14 10 8 9 10 6 10 4 7 9 6 2 16 Hungary stats 5 5 2 1 1 2 1 1 3 1 3 2 1 3 5 6 4 1 1 1 5 5 3 23 Iceland 15 1 Ireland 9 14 2 Italy stats 10 11 1 3 4 1 4 4 6 2 8 7 7 1 3 5 8 9 2 3 7 21 Luxembourg 11 1 Malta 8 16 2 Montenegro stats Part of Yugoslavia P of FRY SCG 4 4 4 8 4Men s team 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years Netherlands stats 4 5 7 5 5 3 5 8 8 7 7 3 6 6 9 10 11 17 Portugal 20 1 Romania stats 17 8 5 5 8 4 9 11 10 9 Russian Federation stats Part of Soviet Union g 5 2 3 3 Serbia stats Part of Yugoslavia P of FRY SCG 3 3 1 1 4 Serbia and Montenegro stats Part of Yugoslavia See FRY 2 Defunct 1 Slovakia Part of Czechoslovakia 12 1 Soviet Union i stats 7 3 2 3 2 1 8 1 3 Defunct 9 Spain stats 7 10 9 8 8 9 10 4 4 6 2 1 4 6 5 6 7 4 18Men s team 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years Sweden stats 3 2 3 4 6 5 11 11 8 Switzerland 11 12 12 12 14 5 Ukraine Part of Soviet Union g 12 1 Unified Team g stats Part of Soviet Union 3 Defunct 1 United Team of Germany stats See Germany 6 6 6 See FRG and GDR See Germany 3 West Germany stats Part of Germany P of EUA 10 4 6 3 4 Part of Germany 5 Yugoslavia stats 10 9 2 2 4 2 1 5 5 2 1 1 Defunct 12 FR Yugoslavia h stats Part of Yugoslavia 8 3 Defunct 2Oceania OSA 1 team Men s team 5 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years Australia stats 18 19 9 15 10 j 12 11 7 5 8 5 8 9 8 7 9 9 17Total teams 7 4 6 12 13 14 5 16 18 21 10 16 13 15 16 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12Finishes in the top four Edit This section is transcluded from List of men s Olympic water polo tournament records and statistics Finishes in the top four edit history The following table is pre sorted by total finishes in the top four in descending order number of Olympic gold medals in descending order number of Olympic silver medals in descending order number of Olympic bronze medals in descending order name of the team in ascending order respectively Last updated 8 August 2021 LegendYear As host team Team Defunct teamRk Men s team 5 Total Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place First Last1 Hungary 17 9 1932 1936 1952 1956 1964 1976 2000 2004 2008 3 1928 1948 1972 4 1960 1968 1980 2020 1 1996 1928 20202 Italy 11 3 1948 1960 1992 2 1976 2012 3 1952 1996 2016 3 1956 1964 1968 1948 20163 United States 9 3 1984 1988 2008 3 1924 1932 1972 3 1920 1952 1992 1920 20084 Yugoslavia 8 3 1968 1984 1988 4 1952 1956 1964 1980 1 1960 1952 19885 Soviet Union 7 2 1972 1980 2 1960 1968 3 1956 1964 1988 1956 19886 Belgium 7 4 1900 1908 1920 1924 2 1912 1936 1 1948 1900 19487 Spain 6 1 1996 1 1992 4 1980 1984 2000 2020 1980 20208 Great Britain 5 4 1900 1908 1912 1920 1 1928 1900 19289 France 5 1 1924 3 1900 2 d 1928 1 1936 1900 193610 Serbia 4 2 2016 2020 2 2008 2012 2008 202011 Sweden 4 1 1912 2 1908 1920 1 1924 1908 192412 Croatia 3 1 2012 2 1996 2016 1996 2016 Germany 1 1928 2 1932 1936 1928 193614 Netherlands 3 2 1948 1976 1 1908 1908 197615 West Germany 3 1 1984 2 1972 1988 1972 198816 Montenegro 3 3 2008 2012 2016 2008 201617 Russia 2 1 2000 1 2004 2000 200418 Greece 2 1 2020 1 2004 2004 202019 Serbia and Montenegro 1 1 2004 2004 200420 FR Yugoslavia h 1 1 2000 2000 2000 Unified Team g 1 1992 1992 199222 Austria 1 1 1912 1912 1912 Japan 1 1932 1932 1932 Romania 1 1976 1976 1976Rk Men s team Total Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place First LastMedal table Edit This section is transcluded from List of men s Olympic water polo tournament records and statistics Medal table edit history The following table is pre sorted by number of Olympic gold medals in descending order number of Olympic silver medals in descending order number of Olympic bronze medals in descending order name of the team in ascending order respectively Last updated 31 December 2021 Hungary is the most successful country in the men s Olympic water polo tournament with nine gold three silver and four bronze 5 LegendTeam Defunct teamRankMen s teamGoldSilverBronzeTotal1 Hungary HUN 934162 Yugoslavia YUG 34073 Italy ITA 32384 Great Britain GBR k 30035 Soviet Union URS 22376 Serbia SRB 20247 United States USA l 14498 Croatia CRO 1203 Germany GER 120310 Spain ESP 110211 France FRA d 102312 Mixed team ZZX 101213 Belgium BEL 042614 Sweden SWE 012315 Russia RUS 0112 Serbia and Montenegro SCG h 011217 Greece GRE 010118 Netherlands NED 002219 Unified Team EUN g 0011 West Germany FRG 0011Totals 20 entries 28282985Champions results squads Edit Main article List of Olympic champions in men s water polo Champions results Serbia men s national water polo team celebrated after the gold medal match of the 2016 Summer Olympics The following table shows results of Olympic champions in men s water polo by tournament Last updated 8 August 2021 Legend 6 Winning 6 matches during the tournament 4 Drawing 4 matches during the tournament 2 Losing 2 matches during the tournament 100 0 Winning all matches during the tournament Team Olympic winning streak winning three or more Olympic titles in a row Team Host team Team Defunct teamAbbreviationMP Matches played W Won D Drawn L Lost GF Goals for GA Goals against GD Goal difference GF MP Goals for per match GA MP Goals against per match GD MP Goal difference per match Results of champions by tournament Men s tournament Champions MP W D L Win GF GA GD GF MP GA MP GD MP1 Paris 1900 Great Britain 1st title 3 3 0 0 100 0 29 3 26 9 667 1 000 8 6672 St Louis 1904 Water polo was an unofficial sport3 London 1908 Great Britain 2nd title 1 e 1 0 0 100 0 9 2 7 9 000 2 000 7 0004 Stockholm 1912 Great Britain 3rd title 3 3 0 0 100 0 21 8 13 7 000 2 667 4 3335 Antwerp 1920 Great Britain 4th title 3 3 0 0 100 0 19 4 15 6 333 1 333 5 0006 Paris 1924 France 1st title 4 4 0 0 100 0 16 6 10 4 000 1 500 2 5007 Amsterdam 1928 Germany 1st title 3 3 0 0 100 0 18 10 8 6 000 3 333 2 6678 Los Angeles 1932 Hungary 1st title 3 a 3 0 0 100 0 30 2 28 10 000 0 667 9 3339 Berlin 1936 Hungary 2nd title 7 6 1 0 85 7 44 4 40 6 286 0 571 5 71410 London 1948 Italy 1st title 7 b 6 1 0 85 7 35 14 21 5 000 2 000 3 00011 Helsinki 1952 Hungary 3rd title 8 6 2 0 75 0 53 16 37 6 625 2 000 4 62512 Melbourne 1956 Hungary 4th title 6 6 0 0 100 0 26 4 22 4 333 0 667 3 66713 Rome 1960 Italy 2nd title 7 6 1 0 85 7 31 12 19 4 429 1 714 2 71414 Tokyo 1964 Hungary 5th title 6 5 1 0 83 3 34 13 21 5 667 2 167 3 50015 Mexico City 1968 Yugoslavia 1st title 9 7 1 1 77 8 86 35 51 9 556 3 889 5 66716 Munich 1972 Soviet Union 1st title 8 6 2 0 75 0 48 24 24 6 000 3 000 3 00017 Montreal 1976 Hungary 6th title 8 7 1 0 87 5 45 32 13 5 625 4 000 1 62518 Moscow 1980 Soviet Union 2nd title 8 8 0 0 100 0 58 31 27 7 250 3 875 3 37519 Los Angeles 1984 Yugoslavia 2nd title 7 6 1 0 85 7 72 44 28 10 286 6 286 4 00020 Seoul 1988 Yugoslavia 3rd title 7 6 0 1 85 7 83 55 28 11 857 7 857 4 00021 Barcelona 1992 Italy 3rd title 7 5 2 0 71 4 59 50 9 8 429 7 143 1 28622 Atlanta 1996 Spain 1st title 8 6 0 2 75 0 58 48 10 7 250 6 000 1 25023 Sydney 2000 Hungary 7th title 8 6 0 2 75 0 78 57 21 9 750 7 125 2 62524 Athens 2004 Hungary 8th title 7 7 0 0 100 0 59 39 20 8 429 5 571 2 85725 Beijing 2008 Hungary 9th title 7 6 1 0 85 7 85 55 30 12 143 7 857 4 28626 London 2012 Croatia 1st title 8 8 0 0 100 0 73 42 31 9 125 5 250 3 87527 Rio 2016 Serbia 1st title 8 5 2 1 62 5 80 66 14 10 000 8 250 1 75028 Tokyo 2020 Serbia 2nd title 8 6 0 2 75 0 103 71 32 12 875 8 875 4 000 Men s tournament Total 169 144 16 9 85 2 1352 747 605 8 000 4 420 3 580Champions MP W D L Win GF GA GD GF MP GA MP GD MPSources Official Reports PDF 1900 1996 men s tournaments Official Results Books PDF 2000 pp 45 92 2004 p 207 2008 p 202 2012 p 471 2016 p 131 2020 p 150 Olympedia 1900 2020 men s tournaments Sports Reference 1900 2016 men s tournaments Champions squads The following table shows number of players and average age height and weight of Olympic champions in men s water polo by tournament Last updated 30 August 2021 Legend Team Olympic winning streak Team Winning all matches during the tournament Team Host team Team Defunct teamWinning squads by tournament Men s tournament Champions Players Returning Olympians AverageNumber Number Age Height Weight1 Paris 1900 a, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library, article , read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games. © Copyright 2021, All Rights Reserved \| www.wiki3.en-us.nina.az Rss Feed SiteMap Ping DMCA Contact Us HomePage Closed Call:

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History

Beginnings

Hungarian dominance

Blood in the Water match

Addition of women's program

Geography

Venues

Events

Rules

Qualification

Players

Eligibility

Competition format

Game rules

Maximum number of players per team

Anti-doping

Men's tournament

Results summary

Confederation statistics

Best performances by tournament

Team statistics

Comprehensive team results by tournament

Finishes in the top four

Medal table

Champions (results, squads)

article