Water polo at the Summer Olympics

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 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.

History[edit]

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]

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]

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[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[edit]

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]

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.

Sources:

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

Events[edit]

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.

Rules[edit]

Qualification Summary[edit]

Qualification[edit]

Since 2012, the qualifying process consists of five stages:

1. The team of the host nation qualifies automatically.
2. No more than one team qualifies as the top team in the FINA World League.
3. No more than three teams qualify as the top teams in the World Aquatics Championships.
4. No more than five teams qualify as the continental Olympic qualification tournament champions.
5. 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
			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
			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[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 format
			Teams	Matches
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 with 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 with Bergvall system for third place
8	1932	4–13 August	5 teams	6 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
			Number of

Women's tournament

#	Year	Dates	Number of		Competition format
			Teams	Matches
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[edit]

Maximum number of players per team[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Results summary[edit]

#	Year[5]	Hosts		Gold medal game				Bronze medal game				Number of teams
				Gold	Score	Silver		Bronze	Score	4th place
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		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
29	2024 Details	Paris										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[edit]

Best performances by tournament[edit]

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

Team statistics[edit]

Comprehensive team results by tournament[edit]

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: 11 February 2024.

Legend

Abbreviation

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	24	Years
Egypt (stats)	—	—	—					—		7	10	—	13	12	15			—						12						6
South Africa	—										14		9	—	—	—	—	—	—	—								12	WD	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	24	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	Q	23
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	24	Years
China	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	9	11					12					3
India		—	—	—						12	21																			2
Iran		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—								12	—	—											1
Japan (stats)	—	—	—					4	14	—			14	11	12	15		—	11								12	10	Q	10
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	24	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	Q	8
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		Q	12
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	24	Years
Greece (stats)					8	13				15					14	14		10	8	9	10	6	10	4	7	9	6	2	Q	17
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	Q	24
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	Q	22
Luxembourg	—	—	—				11	—																						1
Malta	—	—	—	—	—	—	8	—	16		—	—		—			—													2
Montenegro (stats)	—	—	—	—	Part of Yugoslavia																P. of FRY / SCG				4	4	4	8	Q	5
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	24	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			Q	10
Russia (stats)	—	—	—	—	—	Part of Soviet Union															[g]	5	2	3						3
Serbia (stats)	—	—	—		Part of Yugoslavia																P. of FRY / SCG				3	3	1	1	Q	5
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	Q	19
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	24	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
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	24	Years
Australia (stats)			—	—						18	19	9	15	10	[j]	12	11	7	5	8	5		8	9	8	7	9	9	Q	18
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	12

Finishes in the top four[edit]

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
	Germany		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	Yugoslavia†[h]	1			1 (2000)		2000	2000
	Unified Team†[g]				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[edit]

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
	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
	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
	West Germany (FRG)†	0	0	1	1
Totals (20 entries)		28	28	29	85

Champions (results, squads)[edit]

Champions (results)

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

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
		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
			Number	Number	%	Age	Height	Weight
1	Paris 1900	Great Britain (1st title)	7	0	0.0%
2	St. Louis 1904	Water polo was an unofficial sport
3	London 1908	Great Britain (2nd title)	7	0	0.0%	26 years, 111 days
4	Stockholm 1912	Great Britain (3rd title)	7	4	57.1%	29 years, 16 days
5	Antwerp 1920	Great Britain (4th title)	7	3	42.9%	33 years, 279 days
6	Paris 1924	France (1st title)	7	3	42.9%	26 years, 303 days
7	Amsterdam 1928	Germany (1st title)	8	0	0.0%	24 years, 329 days
8	Los Angeles 1932	Hungary (1st title)	10	7	70.0%	27 years, 291 days
9	Berlin 1936	Hungary (2nd title)	11	5	45.5%	26 years, 66 days
10	London 1948	Italy (1st title)	9	0	0.0%	30 years, 203 days
11	Helsinki 1952	Hungary (3rd title)	13	6	46.2%	26 years, 337 days
12	Melbourne 1956	Hungary (4th title)	12	7	58.3%	26 years, 148 days	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[m]	80 kg (176 lb)[n]
13	Rome 1960	Italy (2nd title)	12	3	25.0%	22 years, 363 days	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)	81 kg (179 lb)
14	Tokyo 1964	Hungary (5th title)	12	10	83.3%	28 years, 208 days	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)	82 kg (181 lb)
15	Mexico City 1968	Yugoslavia† (1st title)	11	5	45.5%	26 years, 151 days	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	94 kg (207 lb)
16	Munich 1972	Soviet Union† (1st title)	11	5	45.5%	26 years, 351 days	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)	87 kg (192 lb)
17	Montreal 1976	Hungary (6th title)	11	6	54.5%	25 years, 333 days	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)	88 kg (194 lb)
18	Moscow 1980	Soviet Union† (2nd title)	11	4	36.4%	25 years, 117 days	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)	87 kg (192 lb)
19	Los Angeles 1984	Yugoslavia† (2nd title)	13	3	23.1%	23 years, 362 days	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	92 kg (203 lb)
20	Seoul 1988	Yugoslavia† (3rd title)	13	6	46.2%	23 years, 341 days	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)	94 kg (207 lb)
21	Barcelona 1992	Italy (3rd title)	13	7	53.8%	26 years, 224 days	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[o]	81 kg (179 lb)[p]
22	Atlanta 1996	Spain (1st title)	13	9	69.2%	26 years, 279 days	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	81 kg (179 lb)
23	Sydney 2000	Hungary (7th title)	13	5	38.5%	25 years, 254 days	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	93 kg (205 lb)
24	Athens 2004	Hungary (8th title)	13	10	76.9%	27 years, 344 days	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	96 kg (212 lb)
25	Beijing 2008	Hungary (9th title)	13	9	69.2%	29 years, 248 days	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	100 kg (220 lb)
26	London 2012	Croatia (1st title)	13	8	61.5%	29 years, 85 days	1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)	102 kg (225 lb)
27	Rio 2016	Serbia (1st title)	13	9	69.2%	28 years, 205 days	1.95 m (6  × × €4.95 / month Favourites List Audio Listining Color Mode Monthly New Updates Fullname * Email * Credit or debit card Subscribe A PHP Error was encountered Severity: Notice Message: Undefined variable: userid Filename: user/popup_modal.php Line Number: 68 Backtrace: File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_modal.php Line: 68 Function: _error_handler File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/page/index.php Line: 478 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/controllers/Main.php Line: 107 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/index.php Line: 315 Function: require_once "> Subscribe Now Premium Membership × €4.95 € 9.90 / month Create a Premium Account quick and easy Save your Favourite Pages Listen to any page in Audio Colour Night Mode Create your Account Modal title × Close Save changes Cancel Subscription × Water_polo_at_the_Summer_Olympics" id="cancelSubscription" name="cancelSubscription" class="mb-0"> Are you sure you want to cancel your membership with us? A PHP Error was encountered Severity: Notice Message: Undefined variable: user_membership Filename: user/popup_modal.php Line Number: 192 Backtrace: File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_modal.php Line: 192 Function: _error_handler File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/page/index.php Line: 478 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/controllers/Main.php Line: 107 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/index.php Line: 315 Function: require_once A PHP Error was encountered Severity: Warning Message: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() Filename: user/popup_modal.php Line Number: 192 Backtrace: File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_modal.php Line: 192 Function: _error_handler File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/page/index.php Line: 478 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/controllers/Main.php Line: 107 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/index.php Line: 315 Function: require_once A PHP Error was encountered Severity: Notice Message: Undefined variable: userid Filename: user/popup_modal.php Line Number: 208 Backtrace: File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_modal.php Line: 208 Function: _error_handler File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/page/index.php Line: 478 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/controllers/Main.php Line: 107 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/index.php Line: 315 Function: require_once "> Yes Cancel Continue Subscription Harry Potter Books × A PHP Error was encountered Severity: Notice Message: Undefined variable: products Filename: user/popup_harry_book.php Line Number: 24 Backtrace: File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_harry_book.php Line: 24 Function: _error_handler File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/page/index.php Line: 479 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/controllers/Main.php Line: 107 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/index.php Line: 315 Function: require_once A PHP Error was encountered Severity: Warning Message: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() Filename: user/popup_harry_book.php Line Number: 24 Backtrace: File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_harry_book.php Line: 24 Function: _error_handler File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/page/index.php Line: 479 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/controllers/Main.php Line: 107 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/index.php Line: 315 Function: require_once