Water polo at the Deaflympics

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Water polo is a water sport which has been contested at the Summer Deaflympics on 11 occasions. [1] Water polo was recognised as a sporting event at the Deaflympics for the first time in 1949 with only two nations competing in the event. [2] Water polo was contested only for men in the Deaflympic history and raised question marks regarding the availability of the sport at the Deaflympics.

Contents

The ICSD decided to remove water polo from the Summer Deaflympics due to lack of team preparations, decrease of teams, sponsorship issues and due to the dominance of Hungary in the sport. [3] The sport event was last appeared in a Deaflympic competition in 2009. [4] [5]

Hungary is the most successful nation in the sporting event as it claimed 6 gold medals and 3 silver medals.

Reed Gershwind who is considered one of the most decorated Deaflympian has also competed in the water polo events representing United States in 1985, 1993 and 1997. [6]

Medal winners

GamesGoldSilverBronze
1949 Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden not awarded
1957 Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands Flag of Italy.svg Italy
1961 Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands Flag of Germany.svg Germany
1977 Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary Flag of Italy.svg Italy Flag of Germany.svg West Germany
1981 Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary Flag of Italy.svg Italy Flag of Germany.svg West Germany
1985 Flag of Italy.svg Italy Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary Flag of the United States.svg United States
1993 Flag of the United States.svg United States Flag of Italy.svg Italy Flag of Germany.svg Germany
1997 Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary Flag of the United States.svg United States Flag of Italy.svg Italy
2001 Flag of Italy.svg Italy Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary Flag of Germany.svg Germany
2005 Flag of Germany.svg Germany Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary Flag of Italy.svg Italy
2009 Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary Flag of Italy.svg Italy Flag of Germany.svg Germany

Medal table

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 6309
2Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2439
3Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1113
4Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 1067
5Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 1001
6Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 0202
7Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 0101
Totals (7 entries)11111032

See also

References

  1. "Water polo | Deaflympics". www.deaflympics.com. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
  2. "Water polo | 1949 Summer Deaflympics". www.deaflympics.com. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
  3. "News | Deaflympics". www.deaflympics.com. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
  4. "Deaflympics Taipei 2009 – Water Polo - Water Polo Victoria - SportsTG". SportsTG. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
  5. "Water Polo". DeafNation Video. 2009-09-22. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
  6. "Deaflympics 2017 Samsun". deaflympics2017.org (in Turkish). Retrieved 2017-12-20.