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.
The following table is pre-sorted by number of appearances (in descending order), year of the last appearance (in ascending order), year of the first appearance (in ascending order), name of the team (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 8 August 2021.
The following table is pre-sorted by best finish (in descending order), name of the team (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 8 August 2021.
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.
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: 11 August 2024.
Hungary is the most successful country in the men's Olympic water polo tournament, with nine gold, three silver and four bronze.[1]
From 1900 to 1928, single-elimination tournaments were used to determine Olympic champions in men's water polo. The following table shows men's teams that won all matches during the Olympic tournament since 1932.
Winning all matches during the tournament (since 1932)
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.
Teams having equal quantities in the tables below are ordered by the tournament the quantity was attained in (the teams that attained the quantity first are listed first). If the quantity was attained by more than one team in the same tournament, these teams are ordered alphabetically. Last updated: 8 August 2021.
The following tables show the oldest and youngest players who competed in men's water polo at the Summer Olympics, and the oldest and youngest male Olympic medalists in water polo. Last updated: 1 April 2021.
Legend
Team – Host team
Player‡ – Player who won the tournament with his team
Manuel Estiarte of Spain is the only water polo player to compete at six Olympic Games (1980–2000).
The following table is pre-sorted by number of Olympic appearances (in descending order), year of the last Olympic appearance (in ascending order), year of the first Olympic appearance (in ascending order), date of birth (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 26 July 2021.
Seventeen athletes competed in water polo at five or more Olympic Games between 1900 and 2020 inclusive. Paul Radmilovic, representing Great Britain, is the first water polo player to compete at five Olympics (1908–1928).[9]
The following table is pre-sorted by total number of Olympic medals (in descending order), number of Olympic gold medals (in descending order), number of Olympic silver medals (in descending order), year of receiving the last Olympic medal (in ascending order), year of receiving the first Olympic medal (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 11 August 2021.
Eleven male athletes won four or more Olympic medals in water polo. Among them, seven were members of the Hungary men's national water polo team. Dezső Gyarmati is the first and only athlete (man or woman) to win five Olympic medals in water polo (three gold, one silver and one bronze).[14]
Paul Radmilovic, representing Great Britain, won three gold medals in water polo at the 1908, 1912 and 1920 Olympics.
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), year of receiving the last Olympic gold medal (in ascending order), year of receiving the first Olympic gold medal (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 31 March 2021.
Despite his disability of losing the left leg below the knee, Olivér Halassy of Hungary scored seven goals in a match in 1932.
The following table is pre-sorted by date of the match (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 4 August 2021.
Scoring seven or more goals in a water polo match is a great feat, as it has only been accomplished 12 times, by 12 players, in the history of men's Olympic tournament.
The first two Olympians to do so were Olivér Halassy and János Németh, with Hungary men's national team in Los Angeles on 8 August 1932.[41] Halassy lost his left leg below the knee when he was a boy.[42] He is the first and only amputee athlete to compete in water polo at the Summer Olympics.[43]
Four players have each netted nine goals in an Olympic match. Hungarian center forward János Németh is the first water polo player to achieve this feat.[41] On 22 October 1968, Zoran Janković of Yugoslavia became the second player to do so.[45] And Manuel Estiarte of Spain is the third player.[46] At the 2008 Games, Aleksandar Šapić of Serbia became the first player to score nine goals in an Olympic match in the 21st century.
At the 1968 Summer Olympics, László Felkai netted seven goals in the bronze medal match on 26 October 1968, helping the Hungarian team win the match.[47] A few hours later, Yugoslavia won the gold medal match over the Soviet Union after extra time, 13–11, despite seven goals scored by Aleksei Barkalov.[48][49]
Legend and abbreviation
– Player's team drew the match
– Player's team lost the match
Team – Host team
Player‡ – Player who won the tournament with his team
Zoran Janković of Yugoslavia scored nine goals in a match in 1968.
The following table shows the historical progression of the record of goals scored by a male water polo player in a single Olympic match. Last updated: 1 April 2021.
Legend
Team – Host team
Player‡ – Player who won the tournament with his team
Historical progression of records: Most goals scored by a male player, one match
Eraldo Pizzo of Italy scored 29 goals at the 1968 Olympics.
The following table is pre-sorted by number of goals (in descending order), edition of the Olympics (in ascending order), number of matches played (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 1 April 2021.
Five male players have scored 25 or more goals in an Olympic water polo tournament.
Spaniard Manuel Estiarte is the first and only water polo player to achieve this feat twice. At the 1984 Summer Olympics, Estiarte netted 34 goals, setting the record for the most goals scored by a water polo player in a single Olympic tournament. Four years later, he scored 27 goals in Seoul.[60]
Filip Filipović scored 19 goals at the 2016 Olympics, helping Serbia win gold. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the men's water polo tournament.
The following table is pre-sorted by edition of the Olympics (in ascending order), number of matches played (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 1 April 2021.
Hans Schneider of Germany scored 22 goals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics,[65] which stood as an Olympic water polo record for one Games until 1968, when the Dutch player Nico van der Voet netted 33 goals in Mexico City.[62]
At 18 years old, Manuel Estiarte of Spain made his Olympic debut at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, where he was the youngest-ever male top goalscorer with 21 goals. He was also the top goalscorer at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and the 1988 Seoul Olympics, with 34 and 27 goals, respectively. He was the joint top goalscorer at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics with 22 goals.[60]
Hungarian left-handed player Tibor Benedek was the joint top goalscorer at the 1992 Games with 22 goals, and the top goalscorer at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics with 19 goals.[66]
Aleksandar Šapić, representing FR Yugoslavia, was the top goalscorer at the 2000 Sydney Olympics with 18 goals. Four years later, he netted 18 goals for Serbia and Montenegro, becoming the top goalscorer at the 2004 Athens Olympics.[67]
31-year-old István Szívós Sr. scored 16 goals for Hungary at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics,[68] which stood as an age record for the oldest top goalscorer in a single Olympic water polo tournament until 2008, when 33-year-old Alessandro Calcaterra of Italy netted 27 goals in Beijing.[61]
Left-hander Filip Filipović of Serbia was the joint top goalscorer at the 2016 Olympics, with 19 goals. He netted two goals in the gold medal match, helping the Serbian team win the Olympics.[69]
Legend
Team – Host team
Player‡ – Player who won the tournament with his team
Male players with the most goals in each Olympic tournament
Nico van der Voet of the Netherlands scored 33 goals at the 1968 Olympics.
The following table shows the historical progression of the record of goals scored by a male water polo player in a single Olympic tournament. Last updated: 1 April 2021.
Legend
Team – Host team
Player‡ – Player who won the tournament with his team
Historical progression of records: Most goals scored by a male player, one tournament
The following table is pre-sorted by number of total goals (in descending order), number of total Olympic matches played (in ascending order), date of the last Olympic match played (in ascending order), date of the first Olympic match played (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 1 April 2021.
Six-time Olympian Manuel Estiarte holds the record for the most goals scored by a water polo player in Olympic history, with 127 goals, far more than any other player. At his first three Olympics (1980–1988), Estiarte netted 82 goals.[60]
Aleksandar Šapić, representing FR Yugoslavia in 1996 and 2000, Serbia and Montenegro in 2004, and Serbia in 2008, scored 64 goals in 32 matches.[67]
Tony Azevedo of the United States holds the record for the most goals scored by a non-European water polo player in Olympic history, with 61 goals at five Olympics (2000–2016).[87]
The following table shows the historical progression of the record of total goals scored by a male water polo player at the Summer Olympics. Last updated: 1 April 2021.
Legend
Team – Host team
Player‡ – Player who won the tournament with his team
Historical progression of records: Most goals scored by a male player, all-time
Hungarian Viktor Nagy saved 16 shots in a match in 2016.
The following table is pre-sorted by date of the match (in ascending order), name of the goalkeeper (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 1 April 2021.
Since 1996, nine male water polo goalkeepers have each saved sixteen or more shots in an Olympic match.
The first man to do so was Christopher Duplanty, with the United States men's national team in Atlanta. He blocked 20 shots on 24 July 1996, setting the record for the most shots saved by a water polo goalkeeper in a single Olympic match.
The following table shows the historical progression of the record of shots saved by a male water polo goalkeeper in a single Olympic match since 1996. Last updated: 1 April 2021.
Legend
Team – Host team
Player‡ – Player who won the tournament with his team
Josip Pavić saved 85 shots at the 2012 Games, helping Croatia win the Olympic title. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the men's water polo tournament.
The following table is pre-sorted by number of saves (in descending order), edition of the Olympics (in ascending order), number of matches played (in ascending order), name of the goalkeeper (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 1 April 2021.
Since 1996, six male goalkeepers have saved 75 or more shots in an Olympic water polo tournament.
Stefano Tempesti of Italy is the first water polo goalkeeper to achieve this feat twice. At the 2008 Olympics, Tempesti saved 83 shots. Four years later in London, he blocked 87 shots, setting the record for the most saves by a water polo goalkeeper in a single Olympic tournament.
Slobodan Soro is the second goalkeeper to achieve this feat twice. At the 2012 London Olympics, Soro saved 75 shots for Serbia. In Rio de Janeiro, he saved 81 shots for Brazil.
At the 2012 Summer Games, Josip Pavić saved 85 shots, including nine in the gold medal match, helping the Croatia team win the Olympics. He is the most efficient one among these six goalkeepers.
Legend and abbreviation
Team – Host team
Player‡ – Player who won the tournament with his team
MP – Matches played
Eff% – Save efficiency (Saves / Shots)
70.2% – Highest save efficiency
Male goalkeepers with 75 or more saves in an Olympic tournament (statistics since 1996)
Stefano Tempesti of Italy saved 83 and 87 shots at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, respectively.
The following table is pre-sorted by edition of the Olympics (in ascending order), number of matches played (in ascending order), name of the goalkeeper (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 1 April 2021.
At the 2004 Summer Games, Nikolay Maksimov saved 62 shots, including seven in the bronze medal match, helping Russia win the match.
Stefano Tempesti of Italy blocked 83 shots at the 2008 Olympics. In the 2012 edition, he saved 87 shots, helping the Italian team win the Olympic silver medal.
Slobodan Soro, representing Brazil, saved 81 shots at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Legend and abbreviation
Team – Host team
Player‡ – Player who won the tournament with his team
MP – Matches played
Eff% – Save efficiency (Saves / Shots)
Male goalkeepers with the most saves in each Olympic tournament (statistics since 1996)
The following table shows the historical progression of the record of shots saved by a male water polo goalkeeper in a single Olympic tournament since 1996. Last updated: 1 April 2021.
Legend
Team – Host team
Player‡ – Player who won the tournament with his team
Historical progression of records: Most shots saved by a male goalkeeper, one tournament (statistics since 1996)
Russian-Kazakhstani goalkeeper Nikolay Maksimov saved 228 shots at four Olympics (1996–2004, 2012).
The following table is pre-sorted by number of total saves (in descending order), number of total Olympic matches played (in ascending order), date of the last Olympic match played (in ascending order), date of the first Olympic match played (in ascending order), name of the goalkeeper (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 1 April 2021.
Five-time Olympian Stefano Tempesti holds the record for the most shots saved by a water polo goalkeeper at the Olympics since 1996, with 295 saves.
Nikolay Maksimov, representing Russia, saved 178 shots at three Olympics (1996–2004). Eight years later, he represented Kazakhstan at the 2012 London Olympics, blocking 50 shots.
Slobodan Soro saved 132 shots in 2008 and 2012, representing Serbia. He was a member of the Brazil men's national team that competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics, blocking 81 shots.
Legend
– Hosts
All-time male goalkeepers with 200 or more saves at the Olympics (statistics since 1996)
The following table shows the historical progression of the record of total shots saved by a male water polo goalkeeper at the Summer Olympics since 1996. Last updated: 1 April 2021.
Legend
Team – Host team
Player‡ – Player who won the tournament with his team
Historical progression of records: Most shots saved by a male goalkeeper, all-time (statistics since 1996)
Pietro Figlioli, representing Australia then Italy, was the (joint) top sprinter in 2004, 2008 and 2012.
The following table is pre-sorted by number of sprints won (in descending order), edition of the Olympics (in ascending order), number of sprints contested (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 15 May 2021.
Sprinters are usually the fastest swimmers of the water polo team. If a water polo player won an Olympic medal in swimming, he would be an outstanding sprinter.
Since 2000, three male players have won 20 or more sprints in an Olympic water polo tournament.
Pietro Figlioli is the first and only water polo player to achieve this feat twice. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Figlioli won 24 sprints for Australia, setting the record for the most sprints won by a water polo player in a single Olympic tournament. Four years later, he won 21 sprints in Beijing.
At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Sergey Garbuzov won 20 sprints, helping Russia win bronze. He is the most efficient one among these three sprinters.
Legend and abbreviation
Team – Host team
Player‡ – Player who won the tournament with his team
Eff% – Efficiency (Sprints won / Sprints contested)
95.2% – Highest efficiency
Male players with 20 or more sprints won in an Olympic tournament (statistics since 2000)
The following table is pre-sorted by edition of the Olympics (in ascending order), number of sprints contested (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 15 May 2021.
At the 2000 Olympics, Brad Schumacher won 20 sprints for the United States, becoming the top sprinter of the tournament.
Pietro Figlioli was the top sprinter in 2004 and 2008, representing Australia. He was a member of the Italy men's national team that competed at the 2012 London Olympics. He was the joint top sprinter in 2012.
Rhys Howden of Australia was another joint top sprinter in 2012. He was also the top sprinter at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Legend and abbreviation
Team – Host team
Player‡ – Player who won the tournament with his team
Eff% – Efficiency (Sprints won / Sprints contested)
Male players with the most sprints won in each Olympic tournament (statistics since 2000)
The following table shows the historical progression of the record of sprints won by a male water polo player in a single Olympic tournament since 2000. Last updated: 15 May 2021.
Legend
Team – Host team
Player‡ – Player who won the tournament with his team
Historical progression of records: Most sprints won by a male player, one tournament (statistics since 2000)
The following table is pre-sorted by number of total sprints won (in descending order), number of total sprints contested (in ascending order), year of the last Olympic appearance (in ascending order), year of the first Olympic appearance (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 15 May 2021.
Pietro Figlioli holds the record for the most sprints won by a water polo player at the Olympics since 2000, with 78 sprints won at four Olympics (2004–2016).
Australian Rhys Howden won 42 sprints in three Olympic tournaments between 2008 and 2016.
Aleksandar Ćirić, representing FR Yugoslavia in 2000, Serbia and Montenegro in 2004, and Serbia in 2008, won 40 sprints at three Olympics.
Legend and abbreviation
– Hosts
Eff% – Efficiency (Sprints won / Sprints contested)
All-time male players with 30 or more sprints won at the Olympics (statistics since 2000)
The following table shows the historical progression of the record of total sprints won by a male water polo player at the Summer Olympics since 2000. Last updated: 15 May 2021.
Legend
Team – Host team
Player‡ – Player who won the tournament with his team
Historical progression of records: Most sprints won by a male player, all-time (statistics since 2000)
Ratko Rudić coached three men's national teams to four Olympic gold medals (Yugoslavia in 1984 and 1988, Italy in 1992 and Croatia in 2012).
The following table is pre-sorted by total number of Olympic medals (in descending order), number of Olympic gold medals (in descending order), number of Olympic silver medals (in descending order), year of winning the last Olympic medal (in ascending order), year of winning the first Olympic medal (in ascending order), name of the coach (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 31 March 2021.
There are four coaches who led men's national water polo teams to win three or more Olympic medals.
Ratko Rudić is the most successful water polo coach in Olympic history. As a head coach, he led three men's national water polo teams to win four Olympic gold medals and one Olympic bronze medal. He guided Yugoslavia men's national team to two consecutive gold medals in 1984 and 1988, Italy men's national team to a gold medal in 1992 and a bronze medal in 1996, and Croatia men's national team to a gold medal in 2012, making him the first and only coach to lead three different men's national water polo teams to the Olympic titles.[109][110]
Dénes Kemény of Hungary is another coach who led men's national water polo team(s) to win three Olympic gold medals. Under his leadership, the Hungary men's national team won three gold in a row between 2000 and 2008, becoming the second water polo team to have an Olympic winning streak.[111]
Dezső Gyarmati coached the Hungary men's national team to three consecutive Olympic medals, a silver in 1972, a gold in 1976, and a bronze in 1980.[112]
The following table is pre-sorted by total number of Olympic medals (in descending order), number of Olympic gold medals (in descending order), number of Olympic silver medals (in descending order), year of winning the last Olympic medal (in ascending order), year of winning the first Olympic medal (in ascending order), name of the person (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 7 May 2021.
Twelve water polo players won Olympic medals and then guided men's national water polo teams to the Olympic podium as head coaches.
Dezső Gyarmati of Hungary won five Olympic medals in a row between 1948 and 1964. He coached the Hungary men's national team to three consecutive Olympic medals, including a gold in 1976,[14][112] making him the only man to win Olympic gold in water polo as player and head coach in the last 100 years.
Ivo Trumbić won the silver medal in 1964 and Yugoslavia's first Olympic gold medal in water polo in 1968. He moved to the Netherlands in 1973, hired as the head coach of the Netherlands men's national team. At the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, he led the Dutch team to win a bronze medal.[116][117]
Soviet Boris Popov won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. He guided the Soviet Union men's national team to two Olympic medals in 1980 and 1988, and the Unified Team to a bronze medal in 1992.[113]
Ratko Rudić won a silver medal for Yugoslavia at the Moscow Olympics in 1980. Upon retirement as an athlete, he immediately entered the coaching ranks. During his career, Rudić guided three different men's national teams to five Olympic medals, more than any other coaches.[114][109][110]
Terry Schroeder of the United States won two consecutive silver medals at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. Twenty years later, he coached the United States men's national team to a silver in 2008, becoming the first and only non-European to achieve this feat.[121][122]
Dejan Savić won three consecutive Olympic medals between 2000 and 2008. At the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, he coached Serbia men's national team to the Olympic title.[125]
1 2 3 4 5 At the 1948 Olympics, the water polo match between Italy and Yugoslavia in Group D, and the match between Egypt and Hungary in Group E were both replayed. For more details, please see here.
1 2 3 4 At the 1952 Olympics, the water polo match between the Netherlands and Yugoslavia in Group C was replayed. For more details, please see here.
1 2 3 4 5 6 At the 1932 Olympics, Brazil was disqualified after their players attacked the Hungarian referee at the end of their match against Germany. Their two matches were annulled. Therefore, Hungary and Japan won their games scheduled with Brazil, by forfeit. For more details, please see the Official Report of the 1932 Olympic Games (pp.650–651), and here.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 In 1992, 12 of the 15 former Soviet Republics competed together as the Unified Team and marched under the Olympic Flag in the Barcelona Games.
1 2 3 France had four teams compete in 1900. Bronze medals were given to the losers of both semifinals; France took both bronze. Bill Burgess, a member of one of the French bronze team was a British nationality, so later IOC attributed one bronze medal to Mixed team.
↑ The Olympic Committee of the Soviet Union was formed on 21 April 1951, and was recognised by the International Olympic Committee on 7 May 1951.
1 2 3 4 5 After the breakup of Yugoslavia, FR Yugoslavia men's national water polo team participated at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, and won a bronze medal in 2000. In 2003, after the country was renamed from FR Yugoslavia to Serbia and Montenegro, the team was also renamed to "Serbia and Montenegro men's national water polo team". Despite the renaming of the country name, both team of FR Yugoslavia and team of Serbia and Montenegro represented the same national entity: a joint state of Montenegro and Serbia.
↑ While Australia had qualified to compete as one of sixteen water polo teams, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) did not endorse them. The Australian players responded by paying their own way to travel to Mexico City, but the team were not allowed to compete. For more details, please see here (1, 2).
↑ British team won gold medal in 1900. Victor Lindberg, a member of British team was a New Zealander, so later IOC attributed gold medal to Mixed team.
↑ Previously, the International Olympic Committee and International Swimming Federation (FINA) considered the water polo event at the 1904 Olympics as a demonstration sport. 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.
1 2 Having drawn a bye in the first round and having received a walkover against Austria in the semi-final, the final was the only match that Great Britain played during the tournament.
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.
This article lists various water polo records and statistics in relation to the Croatia men's national water polo team at the Summer Olympics.
This article lists various water polo records and statistics in relation to the Serbia men's national water polo team at the Summer Olympics.
This article lists various water polo records and statistics in relation to the United States women's national water polo team at the Summer Olympics.
This article lists various water polo records and statistics in relation to the Great Britain men's national water polo team at the Summer Olympics.
This article lists various water polo records and statistics in relation to the Australia women's national water polo team at the Summer Olympics.
This article lists various water polo records and statistics in relation to the Italy men's national water polo team at the Summer Olympics.
This article lists various water polo records and statistics in relation to the Italy women's national water polo team at the Summer Olympics.
This article lists various water polo records and statistics in relation to the Hungary women's national water polo team at the Summer Olympics.
This article lists various water polo records and statistics in relation to the Hungary men's national water polo team at the Summer Olympics.
This article lists various water polo records and statistics in relation to the Spain men's national water polo team at the Summer Olympics.
This article lists various water polo records and statistics in relation to the Netherlands men's national water polo team at the Summer Olympics.
This article lists various water polo records and statistics in relation to the Netherlands women's national water polo team at the Summer Olympics.
This article lists various water polo records and statistics in relation to the Russia men's national water polo team at the Summer Olympics.
This article lists various water polo records and statistics in relation to the Russia women's national water polo team at the Summer Olympics.
This article lists various water polo records and statistics in relation to the Germany men's national water polo team, the United Team of Germany men's national water polo team, and the West Germany men's national water polo team at the Summer Olympics.
This article lists various water polo records and statistics in relation to the Greece men's national water polo team at the Summer Olympics.
Men's Olympic water polo tournament statistics – top goalkeepers (all-time)
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