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 was the first to win both the men's and women's water polo tournaments.
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.
Jacqueline "Jackie" Frank DeLuca Cochran is an American water polo goalkeeper, 2004 bronze medal Olympian and two-time collegiate National Player of the Year.
Moriah van Norman is an American water polo player who has played for the University of Southern California and the National team, who won the Peter J. Cutino Award in 2004, recognized as the best female collegiate player in the nation. Her position is two-meter offense.
Lauren Ashley Wenger is an American water polo player for the University of Southern California, who received the 2006 Peter J. Cutino Award as the best collegiate water polo player among Division I NCAA teams. Her position is two-meter defender.
Adam Krikorian is an American water polo coach and the head coach of the United States women's national water polo team. He coached the team to gold medals at the 2012 Olympic Games, 2016 Olympic Games, and 2020 Olympic Games. He was named the United States Olympic Committee's Coach of the Games for 2016. He won 15 NCAA national championships as player, assistant coach, and head coach at UCLA.
Courtney Lynn Kaiulani Mathewson is an American water polo player, part of the US team that won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2016 Summer Olympics. She played water polo for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins during their four-consecutive NCAA National Champion Women's Water Polo championships, and was named to the All-Tournament first team. At UCLA, she majored in sociology.
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.
Jillian Amaris Kraus is a water polo player. She won a gold medal in the 2005 Junior World Championships, won four straight NCAA Women's Water Polo Championships with UCLA, and has played with the United States women's national water polo team.
Patricia Cardenas is an American water polo player. She played for Bell Gardens High School, Golden West College, University of Southern California, and the United States national water polo team. She won a silver medal with the U.S. at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
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.
Merrill M. Moses is a United States Olympic silver medalist, three-time Olympian, and three-time Pan American Games gold medalist water polo goalkeeper. He played college water polo for Pepperdine University, where he was an All-American and helped lead the team to the 1997 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship. Moses is now associate head coach in water polo at Pepperdine.
Chay Thomas Lapin is an American water polo goalkeeper. While playing at the University of California, Los Angeles, he set the school's all-time saves record. He also played for the United States national team at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Margaret Ann Steffens is an American professional water polo player. She won the gold medal with the United States at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Steffens set a new Olympic record for the most goals scored by an individual player in women's water polo at the Olympic Games.
Anna Espar Llaquet is a Spanish water polo player who won the gold medal at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona. She also won the silver medal at the 2012 and 2020 Summer Olympics.
Kiley Susan Neushul is an American water polo player and a graduate of Stanford University.
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.
Ashley Grossman is a water polo player. She has competed as a member of the United States women's national water polo team, for both the U.S. Junior and Senior National Teams, including as Team USA won a gold medal in water polo at the 2015 Pan American Games.
United States 
