European Water Polo Championship

European Water Polo Championship

Sport	Water Polo
Founded	1926
Continent	Europe (LEN)
Most recent champion(s)	Spain (men's, 1st title)  Netherlands (women's, 6th title)
Most titles	Hungary (men's, 13 titles)  Netherlands (women's, 6 titles)

The European Water Polo Championship is a sport competition for national water polo teams, currently held biannually and organized by the Ligue Européenne de Natation (LEN), the governing European aquatics federation. There are both men's and women's competitions.

The first European Water Polo Championship was held in 1926 in Budapest, Hungary, with just a men's competition. The women for the first time competed in 1985 (Oslo, Norway) for the European title. The water polo tournament was part of the European Aquatics Championships up to and including 1997, and from 1999 the event was separated and got its own independent tournament.

MEN'S EUROPEAN WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIP
Year	Host	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Number of teams
1926 Details	Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	Sweden	Germany	4
1927 Details	Bologna, Italy	Hungary	France	Belgium	12
1931 Details	Paris, France	Hungary	Germany	Austria	7
1934 Details	Magdeburg, Germany	Hungary	Germany	Belgium	10
1938 Details	London, Great Britain	Hungary	Germany	Netherlands	7
1947 Details	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Italy	Sweden	Belgium	10
1950 Details	Vienna, Austria	Netherlands	Sweden	Yugoslavia	7
1954 Details	Turin, Italy	Hungary	Yugoslavia	Italy	12
1958 Details	Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	Yugoslavia	Soviet Union	14
1962 Details	Leipzig, East Germany	Hungary	Soviet Union Yugoslavia	—	11
1966 Details	Utrecht, Netherlands	Soviet Union	East Germany	Yugoslavia	17
1970 Details	Barcelona, Spain	Soviet Union	Hungary	Yugoslavia	15
1974 Details	Vienna, Austria	Hungary	Soviet Union	Yugoslavia	8
1977 Details	Jönköping, Sweden	Hungary	Yugoslavia	Italy	8
1981 Details	Split, Yugoslavia	West Germany	Soviet Union	Hungary	8
1983 Details	Rome, Italy	Soviet Union	Hungary	Spain	8
1985 Details	Sofia, Bulgaria	Soviet Union	Yugoslavia	West Germany	8
1987 Details	Strasbourg, France	Soviet Union	Yugoslavia	Italy	8
1989 Details	Bonn, West Germany	West Germany	Yugoslavia	Italy	16
1991 Details	Athens, Greece	Yugoslavia	Spain	Soviet Union	16
1993 Details	Sheffield, Great Britain	Italy	Hungary	Spain	12
1995 Details	Vienna, Austria	Italy	Hungary	Germany	12
1997 Details	Seville, Spain	Hungary	Yugoslavia	Russia	12
1999 Details	Florence, Italy	Hungary	Croatia	Italy	12
2001 Details	Budapest, Hungary	Yugoslavia	Italy	Hungary	12
2003 Details	Kranj, Slovenia	Serbia and Montenegro	Croatia	Hungary	12
2006 Details	Belgrade, Serbia	Serbia	Hungary	Spain	12
2008 Details	Málaga, Spain	Montenegro	Serbia	Hungary	12
2010 Details	Zagreb, Croatia	Croatia	Italy	Serbia	12
2012 Details	Eindhoven, Netherlands	Serbia	Montenegro	Hungary	12
2014 Details	Budapest, Hungary	Serbia	Hungary	Italy	12
2016 Details	Belgrade, Serbia	Serbia	Montenegro	Hungary	16
2018 Details	Barcelona, Spain	Serbia	Spain	Croatia	16
2020 Details	Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	Spain	Montenegro	16
2022 Details	Split, Croatia	Croatia	Hungary	Spain	16
2024 Details	Dubrovnik and Zagreb, Croatia	Spain	Croatia	Italy	16
2026 Details	Belgrade, Serbia

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Hungary	13	7	6	26
2	Soviet Union	5	3	2	10
3	Serbia	5	1	1	7
4	Italy	3	2	7	12
5	Croatia	2	3	1	6
6	Yugoslavia /  Serbia and Montenegro	2	1	0	3
7	West Germany	2	0	1	3
8	Yugoslavia	1	7	4	12
9	Spain	1	3	4	8
10	Montenegro	1	2	1	4
11	Netherlands	1	0	1	2
12	Germany	0	3	2	5
13	Sweden	0	3	0	3
14	East Germany	0	1	0	1
	France	0	1	0	1
16	Belgium	0	0	3	3
17	Austria	0	0	1	1
	Russia	0	0	1	1
Totals (18 entries)		36	37	35	108

Team	1926 (4)	1927 (12)	1931 (7)	1934 (10)	1938 (7)	1947 (10)	1950 (7)	1954 (12)	1958 (14)	1962 (11)	1966 (17)	1970 (15)	1974 (8)	1977 (8)	1981 (8)	1983 (8)	1985 (8)	1987 (8)	1989 (16)	1991 (16)	1993 (12)	1995 (12)	1997 (12)	1999 (12)	2001 (12)	2003 (12)	2006 (12)	2008 (12)	2010 (12)	2012 (12)	2014 (12)	2016 (16)	2018 (16)	2020 (16)	2022 (16)	2024 (16)	Years
Austria	•	6th	3rd	•	•	10th	5th	12th	11th	•	•	14th	•	•	•	•	•	•	14th	•	•	12th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	9
Belgium	4th	3rd	4th	3rd	4th	3rd	•	11th	10th	7th	10th	12th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	11
Bulgaria	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	14th	•	11th	•	•	•	•	•	•	8th	10th	13th	•	8th	11th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	7
Croatia	Part of  Yugoslavia																				5th	4th	4th	2nd	4th	2nd	7th	4th	1st	9th	5th	7th	3rd	4th	1st	2nd	16
Czechoslovakia	•	7th	5th	8th	•	9th	•	•	•	•	14th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	7th	10th	Defunct																7
Denmark	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	16th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	1
Finland	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	13th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	1
France	•	2nd	6th	6th	6th	7th	6th	9th	8th	•	13th	11th	•	•	•	•	•	•	12th	11th	•	•	•	•	12th	•	•	•	•	•	10th	9th	12th	13th	6th	9th	19
Georgia	Part of  Soviet Union																				•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	12th	14th	13th	10th	8th	10th	6
Germany  West Germany	3rd	5th	2nd	2nd	2nd	•	•	6th	7th	•	7th	7th	8th	6th	1st	5th	3rd	4th	1st	7th	9th	3rd	10th	8th	9th	6th	8th	6th	6th	5th	9th	11th	9th	9th	13th	12th	33
East Germany	Part of  Germany							•	5th	4th	2nd	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	Defunct																	3
Great Britain	•	8th	•	•	7th	6th	•	8th	13th	10th	17th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	15th	14th	12th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	10
Greece	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	10th	•	•	•	•	8th	•	11th	6th	7th	9th	7th	4th	7th	8th	6th	11th	9th	6th	6th	4th	5th	7th	5th	5th	20
Hungary	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	4th	•	1st	1st	1st	5th	2nd	1st	1st	3rd	2nd	5th	5th	9th	5th	2nd	2nd	1st	1st	3rd	3rd	2nd	3rd	4th	3rd	2nd	3rd	8th	1st	2nd	4th	35
Ireland	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	15th	15th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	2
Israel	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	12th	16th	2
Italy	•	12th	•	10th	5th	1st	4th	3rd	4th	8th	4th	4th	5th	3rd	6th	7th	4th	3rd	3rd	4th	1st	1st	6th	3rd	2nd	9th	5th	5th	2nd	4th	3rd	6th	4th	6th	4th	3rd	34
Malta	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	15th	16th	16th	14th	15th	5
Montenegro	Part of  Yugoslavia																				Part of SCG / FR Yugoslavia						• [N 1]	1st	5th	2nd	4th	2nd	6th	3rd	7th	6th	9
Netherlands	•	11th	•	9th	3rd	5th	1st	4th	6th	6th	8th	5th	4th	5th	8th	6th	7th	•	8th	9th	8th	10th	9th	12th	10th	11th	10th	•	•	10th	•	12th	10th	15th	11th	11th	30
North Macedonia	Part of  Yugoslavia																				•	•	•	•	•	•	•	8th	12th	11th	•	•	•	•	•	•	3
Poland	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	9th	11th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	13th	12th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	4
Romania	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	10th	•	5th	6th	6th	6th	7th	7th	8th	•	7th	5th	8th	4th	11th	•	9th	11th	10th	4th	9th	7th	8th	8th	10th	11th	11th	10th	8th	26
Russia	Part of  Soviet Union																				6th	6th	3rd	5th	5th	4th	9th	10th	11th	•	11th	8th	7th	8th	DQ	DQ	13
Serbia	Part of  Yugoslavia																				Part of SCG / FRY						1st	2nd	3rd	1st	1st	1st	1st	5th	9th	7th	10
SCG / FRY	Part of  Yugoslavia																				•	•	2nd	7th	1st	1st	Defunct										4
Slovakia	Part of Czechoslovakia																				10th	•	8th	10th	8th	7th	11th	12th	•	•	•	13th	14th	14th	15th	13th	12
Slovenia	Part of  Yugoslavia																				•	•	•	11th	•	12th	12th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	16th	14th	5
Soviet Union	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	5th	3rd	2nd	1st	1st	2nd	4th	2nd	1st	1st	1st	4th	3rd	Defunct																13
Spain	•	10th	•	7th	•	•	•	7th	12th	•	12th	8th	7th	8th	5th	3rd	6th	6th	6th	2nd	3rd	5th	5th	6th	6th	5th	3rd	7th	8th	7th	7th	5th	2nd	2nd	3rd	1st	30
Sweden	2nd	4th	7th	4th	•	2nd	2nd	•	•	9th	9th	9th	•	•	•	•	•	•	16th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	10
Switzerland	•	•	•	•	•	•	7th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	1
Turkey	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	16th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	15th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	10th	12th	•	16th	15th	12th	•	•	7
Ukraine	Part of  Soviet Union																				11th	7th	11th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	3
Yugoslavia	•	9th	•	5th	•	8th	3rd	2nd	2nd	2nd	3rd	3rd	3rd	2nd	4th	4th	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st	Defunct																17

Notes

Boldface denotes active water polo players and highest medal count among all players (including these who not included in these tables) per type.

Rank	Player	Country	From	To	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Filip Filipović	Serbia and Montenegro  Serbia	2003	2018	6	1	1	8
2	Slobodan Nikić	Serbia and Montenegro  Serbia	2003	2016	5	1	1	7
	Duško Pijetlović	Serbia	2006	2018	5	1	1	7
	Andrija Prlainović	Serbia	2006	2018	5	1	1	7
5	Živko Gocić	Serbia and Montenegro  Serbia	2003	2016	5	–	1	6
6	Milan Aleksić	Serbia	2010	2018	4	–	1	5
	Stefan Mitrović	Serbia	2010	2018	4	–	1	5
8	Miloš Ćuk	Serbia	2012	2018	4	–	–	4
	Márton Homonnai	Hungary	1926	1934	4	–	–	4
	Alajos Keserű	Hungary	1926	1934	4	–	–	4
	Branislav Mitrović	Serbia	2012	2018	4	–	–	4
	József Vértesy	Hungary	1926	1934	4	–	–	4

The table shows players who have won at least 6 medals in total at the European Championships.

Rank	Player	Country	From	To	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Filip Filipović	Serbia and Montenegro  Serbia	2003	2018	6	1	1	8
2	Tamás Kásás	Hungary	1995	2012	2	2	4	8
3	Slobodan Nikić	Serbia and Montenegro  Serbia	2003	2016	5	1	1	7
	Duško Pijetlović	Serbia	2006	2018	5	1	1	7
	Andrija Prlainović	Serbia	2006	2018	5	1	1	7
6	Rajmund Fodor	Hungary	1993	2006	2	3	2	7
7	Gergely Kiss	Hungary	1997	2012	2	1	4	7
8	Živko Gocić	Serbia and Montenegro  Serbia	2003	2016	5	–	1	6
9	Tamás Molnár	Hungary	1997	2008	2	1	3	6
10	Tibor Benedek	Hungary	1993	2008	1	2	3	6
	Norbert Hosnyánszky	Hungary	2006	2020	1	2	3	6
	Dénes Varga	Hungary	2006	2020	1	2	3	6
13	Péter Biros	Hungary	1999	2012	1	1	4	6

WOMEN'S EUROPEAN WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIP
Year	Host	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Number of teams
1985 Details	Oslo, Norway	Netherlands	Hungary	West Germany	8
1987 Details	Strasbourg, France	Netherlands	Hungary	France	7
1989 Details	Bonn, West Germany	Netherlands	Hungary	France	9
1991 Details	Athens, Greece	Hungary	Netherlands	Italy	8
1993 Details	Leeds, Great Britain	Netherlands	Russia	Hungary	12
1995 Details	Vienna, Austria	Italy	Hungary	Netherlands	12
1997 Details	Sevilla, Spain	Italy	Russia	Netherlands	12
1999 Details	Prato, Italy	Italy	Netherlands	Russia	8
2001 Details	Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	Italy	Russia	8
2003 Details	Ljubljana, Slovenia	Italy	Hungary	Russia	8
2006 Details	Belgrade, Serbia	Russia	Italy	Hungary	8
2008 Details	Málaga, Spain	Russia	Spain	Hungary	8
2010 Details	Zagreb, Croatia	Russia	Greece	Netherlands	8
2012 Details	Eindhoven, Netherlands	Italy	Greece	Hungary	8
2014 Details	Budapest, Hungary	Spain	Netherlands	Hungary	8
2016 Details	Belgrade, Serbia	Hungary	Netherlands	Italy	12
2018 Details	Barcelona, Spain	Netherlands	Greece	Spain	12
2020 Details	Budapest, Hungary	Spain	Russia	Hungary	12
2022 Details	Split, Croatia	Spain	Greece	Italy	12
2024 Details	Eindhoven, Netherlands	Netherlands	Spain	Greece	16
2026 Details	Belgrade, Serbia

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Netherlands	6	4	3	13
2	Italy	5	2	3	10
3	Hungary	3	5	6	14
4	Russia	3	3	3	9
5	Spain	3	2	1	6
6	Greece	0	4	1	5
7	France	0	0	2	2
8	West Germany	0	0	1	1
Totals (8 entries)		20	20	20	60

Team	1985 (8)	1987 (7)	1989 (9)	1991 (8)	1993 (12)	1995 (12)	1997 (12)	1999 (8)	2001 (8)	2003 (8)	2006 (8)	2008 (8)	2010 (8)	2012 (8)	2014 (8)	2016 (12)	2018 (12)	2020 (12)	2022 (12)	2024 (16)	Years
Belgium	5th	6th	9th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	3
Bulgaria	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	16th	1
Croatia	Part of  Yugoslavia				•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	8th	•	•	11th	11th	10th	8th	8th	6
Czech Republic	Part of Czechoslovakia				11th	10th	12th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	12th	4
France	7th	3rd	3rd	4th	5th	5th	8th	8th	8th	•	•	8th	•	•	7th	7th	7th	7th	7th	6th	16
Germany  West Germany	3rd	4th	5th	6th	6th	7th	6th	7th	7th	7th	7th	7th	7th	8th	•	8th	8th	11th	10th	11th	19
Great Britain	6th	7th	•	8th	8th	8th	10th	•	•	•	•	•	•	7th	8th	•	•	•	•	7th	9
Greece	•	•	7th	7th	7th	4th	7th	5th	4th	5th	6th	6th	2nd	2nd	6th	5th	2nd	6th	2nd	3rd	18
Hungary	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st	3rd	2nd	5th	4th	1st	2nd	3rd	3rd	5th	3rd	3rd	1st	4th	3rd	5th	5th	20
Israel	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	10th	9th	6th	9th	4
Italy	•	•	4th	3rd	4th	1st	1st	1st	2nd	1st	2nd	4th	4th	1st	4th	3rd	6th	5th	3rd	4th	18
Netherlands	1st	1st	1st	2nd	1st	3rd	3rd	2nd	5th	4th	5th	5th	3rd	6th	2nd	2nd	1st	4th	4th	1st	20
Norway	4th	5th	6th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	3
Portugal	•	•	•	•	•	11th	11th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	10th	•	•	•	•	3
Romania	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	11th	14th	2
Russia	Part of  Soviet Union				2nd	6th	2nd	3rd	3rd	3rd	1st	1st	1st	4th	5th	6th	5th	2nd	DQ	DQ	14
Serbia	Part of  Yugoslavia				Part of SCG / FRY						8th	•	•	•	•	9th	9th	12th	9th	10th	6
SCG / FRY	Part of  Yugoslavia				•	•	9th	•	•	•	Defunct										1
Slovakia	Part of Czechoslovakia				12th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	8th	12th	15th	4
Slovenia	Part of  Yugoslavia				•	•	•	•	•	8th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	1
Soviet Union	•	•	•	5th	Defunct																1
Spain	•	•	•	•	9th	9th	4th	6th	6th	6th	4th	2nd	6th	5th	1st	4th	3rd	1st	1st	2nd	16
Sweden	8th	•	8th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	2
Switzerland	•	•	•	•	10th	12th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	2
Turkey	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	12th	12th	•	•	13th	3

Boldface denotes active water polo players and highest medal count among all players (including these who not included in these tables) per type.

Rank	Player	Country	From	To	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Martina Miceli	Italy	1991	2006	4	2	1	7
2	Maddalena Musumeci	Italy	1995	2006	4	2	–	6
3	Carmela Allucci	Italy	1991	2003	4	1	1	6
	Francesca Conti	Italy	1991	2003	4	1	1	6
	Giusi Malato	Italy	1991	2003	4	1	1	6
	Hedda Verdam	Netherlands	1985	1995	4	1	1	6
7	Melania Grego	Italy	1995	2003	4	1	–	5
8	Tania Di Mario	Italy	1999	2016	3	2	1	6
	Laura Ester	Spain	2008	2024	3	2	1	6
	Maica García	Spain	2008	2024	3	2	1	6
	Pili Peña	Spain	2008	2024	3	2	1	6

The table shows players who have won at least 6 medals in total at the European Championships.

Rank	Player	Country	From	To	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Mercédesz Stieber	Hungary	1989	2008	2	3	3	8
2	Martina Miceli	Italy	1991	2006	4	2	1	7
3	Sofia Konukh	Russia	1997	2010	3	1	3	7
4	Maddalena Musumeci	Italy	1995	2006	4	2	–	6
5	Carmela Allucci	Italy	1991	2003	4	1	1	6
	Francesca Conti	Italy	1991	2003	4	1	1	6
	Giusi Malato	Italy	1991	2003	4	1	1	6
	Hedda Verdam	Netherlands	1985	1995	4	1	1	6
9	Tania Di Mario	Italy	1999	2016	3	2	1	6
	Laura Ester	Spain	2008	2024	3	2	1	6
	Maica García	Spain	2008	2024	3	2	1	6
	Pili Peña	Spain	2008	2024	3	2	1	6
13	Elena Smurova	Russia	1997	2008	2	1	3	6

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Hungary	16	12	12	40
2	Italy	8	4	10	22
3	Netherlands	7	4	4	15
4	Soviet Union	5	3	2	10
5	Serbia	5	1	1	7
6	Spain	4	5	5	14
7	Russia	3	3	4	10
8	Croatia	2	3	1	6
9	Yugoslavia /  Serbia and Montenegro	2	1	0	3
10	West Germany	2	0	2	4
11	Yugoslavia	1	7	4	12
12	Montenegro	1	2	1	4
13	Greece	0	4	1	5
14	Germany	0	3	2	5
15	Sweden	0	3	0	3
16	France	0	1	2	3
17	East Germany	0	1	0	1
18	Belgium	0	0	3	3
19	Austria	0	0	1	1
Totals (19 entries)		56	57	55	168

• LEN European U19 Water Polo Championship
• LEN European U17 Water Polo Championship
• LEN European U15 Water Polo Championship

• Juba, Kelvin (June 2020). "2020 LEN European Water Polo Championships (past and present results)" (PDF). len.eu. LEN. Retrieved 18 April 2021.

• Men Water Polo Europe Championships Archive
• Women Water Polo Europe Championships Archive

Wikimedia Commons has media related to European Water Polo Championship.

• LEN.eu Ligue Européenne de Natation – Official LEN website
• Sports123 Archived 2014-01-17 at the Wayback Machine
• Winning Squads & Stats
• Water Polo European Cups Archive
• http://todor66.com/Water_Polo/Europe/index.html
• https://sport-record.de/wasserball/waterpolo-len-team.html