| Anni Espar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Anna Espar Llaquet | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 8 January 1993 Barcelona, Spain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 67 kg (148 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Driver | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Handedness | R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current team | CN Mataró | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010– | Spain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Anna Espar Llaquet (born 8 January 1993) is a Spanish water polo player who won the gold medal at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona. [1] She also won the silver medal at the 2012 [2] and 2020 Summer Olympics. [3]
Espar joined the University of Southern California women's water polo team in 2012. [4] As a Freshman she was named to the ACWPC All-America First Team, [5] All-MPSF First Team, [6] MPSF All-Newcomer Team [6] and MPSF Player of the Week on 25 February after scoring 8 goals in her first major tournament as a Trojan. [7]
In 2013, she won the NCAA in the longest match in championship game history. [8] Espar scored the winning goal in the third sudden-death overtime period. [9]
Espar played on the Spain national team which won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. [2] She scored 15 goals and was named to the Olympic All-Star Team. [2]
In 2012 Espar was named Best European Female Water Polo Player by the LEN. [10]
Espar joined the Sidney Uni Lions women's water polo team in 2017 winning the Australian League and ending with an unprecedented undefeated season for the Lions (23 wins and a draw in 24 matches). Espar was also named to the 2017 NWPL All Star Team. [11]
Espar also played on the Spanish national team which won the silver at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. [3] She scored again 15 goals and was named to the Olympic All-Star Team for the second time in her career. [12]
Espar's younger sister, Clara, is also a professional water polo player.
2011 FINA Junior World Championships, Trieste, Italy, 1st place. [13] 
2012 Olympic Games, London, United Kingdom, 2nd place. 2013 FINA World Championships, Barcelona, Spain, 1st place. 2013 FINA Junior World Championships, Volos, Greece, 2nd place. [14] 2014 European Championship, Budapest, Hungary. 1st place. [15] 
2014 FINA World Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, 3rd place. [16] 2016 FINA World League, Shanghai, China, 2nd place. [17] 2017 FINA World Championships, Budapest, Hungary, 2nd place. [18] 2018 LEN Europa Cup, Pontevedra, Spain, 3rd place. 2018 Mediterranean Games, Tarragona, Spain, 1st place. [19] 2018 European Championship, Barcelona, Spain, 3rd place. 2019 FINA World Championships, Gwangju, South Korea, 2nd place. [20] 2020 European Championship, Budapest, Hungary. 1st place. 2020 Olympic Games, Tokyo, Japan, 2nd place.
The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) is a college athletic conference with members located mostly in the western United States, although it now has members as far east as Pennsylvania. The conference participates at the NCAA Division I level, primarily in Olympic sports that are not directly sponsored by a school's home conference.
Brenda Villa is an American accomplished water polo player. She is the most decorated athlete in the world of women’s water polo. Villa was named Female Water Polo Player of the Decade for 2000-2009 by the FINA Aquatics World Magazine. She is one of four female players who competed in water polo at four Olympics; and one of two female athletes who won four Olympic medals in water polo. She is a leading goalscorer in Olympic water polo history, with 31 goals. In 2018, she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.
Natalie Golda is a former American water polo player and currently the head coach of the newly formed Fresno State Bulldogs water polo team to begin competition in 2018. Considered one of the greatest women's water polo players of all time, her senior leadership helped guide the 2005 UCLA Bruins to their seventh national championship. In May 2005 Golda received the Peter J. Cutino Award, given to the best player in women's collegiate water polo. She was also a member of the US Water Polo Team that won the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2015, she was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.
The Spain women's national water polo team represents Spain in women's international water polo competitions and it is controlled by Real Federación Española de Natación.
Elizabeth Anne "Betsey" Armstrong is an American water polo goalkeeper, who won gold medals with the United States women's national water polo team at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2007 and 2011 Pan American Games, and 2007 and 2009 world championships. She is a leading goalkeeper in Olympic water polo history, with 102 saves. Armstrong attended Huron High School in Ann Arbor and was a three-year letterwinner on her water polo team. She then went on to graduate from the University of Michigan in 2005, where she was the goalkeeper for the women's water polo team. Betsey graduated with a bachelor's degree in English language and Literature. She is currently the record holder at University of Michigan with 350 saves.
Brandon Brooks, who played water polo as a goalie for UCLA and the 2004 and 2008 United States National teams, was the head coach of the women's water polo team at UCLA until 2017. The women's team won the 2008 and 2009 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship, and one of his players, Courtney Mathewson, captured the Peter J. Cutino Award as the player-of-the year in 2008.
Jessica Marie Steffens is an American water polo player. She was a member of the United States national teams that won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics and a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She also played at Stanford University.
Kameryn Louise "Kami" Craig is an American water polo player. She was a member of the US water polo team that won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a gold medal in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016.
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Eleftheria Plevritou is a Greek water polo player for Olympiacos Water Polo Club and the Greece women's national team. She was part of the Greece women's national water polo team that won the silver medal at the 2018 European Championship in Barcelona. She is considered as one of the best female players in water polo.
Margarita Plevritou is a Greek water polo player for Olympiacos and the Greece women's national team. She was part of the Greek team that won the silver medal at the 2018 European Championship in Barcelona.
Chrysoula "Chrysi" Diamantopoulou is a Greek water polo player, who plays as a goalkeeper for Olympiacos and the Greece women's national team. She was part of the Greek team that won the silver medal at the 2018 European Championship in Barcelona and the sixth place at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships. She is considered as one of the best goalkeeper in the world.
Kiley Susan Neushul is an American water polo player and a graduate of Stanford University.
The 2018 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup was the 17th edition of the event, organised by the world's governing body in aquatics, the International Swimming Federation (FINA). The event took place in Surgut, Russia from 4 to 9 September 2018.
Stephania Haralabidis was born in Athens, Greece. Haralabidis is a Greek American water polo player who played at USC and currently playing for Ethnikos and the U.S. national team. Haralabidis also has two sisters, her twin Ioanna and older sister Anastaia. Ioanna was also on the USC women's water polo team.
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Jordan Raney is an American water polo player who is a member of the United States women's national water polo team. She was part of the gold medal-winning American team at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest.
Spain squads – Summer Olympics | |||||||||||||
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