The tournament has come to a close, marking the end of one water polo dynasty and the rise of another. Serbia faced tough competition early, but ultimately secured their third consecutive gold medal behind scoring machine Dušan Mandić.
On the women’s side, the USA’s streak was broken as they fell short in a few tight matches, ending their hopes for a fourth straight gold. Meanwhile, Spain dominated the competition, finishing undefeated and earning their first-ever gold medal.
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- Medals
- Final Brackets
- Men’s Tournament Stories
- Women’s Game Stories
- Tournament Observations
- Standout Players
Final Standings
Men’s Medalists
- 🥇 🇷🇸 Serbia
- 🥈 🇭🇷 Croatia
- 🥉 🇺🇸 USA
Women’s Medalists
- 🥇 🇪🇸 Spain
- 🥈 🇦🇺 Australia
- 🥉 🇳🇱 Netherlands
Brackets and Results
Men’s Elimination Round Bracket
Women’s Elimination Round Bracket
Biggest Stories From the Tournament
Men’s Tournament Results
Serbia’s 3rd Straight Gold Medal
Serbia showed the true meaning of never giving up in a tournament after barely scraping by in their opening match, beating out Japan 16-15. Despite the shaky start, they suffered back-to-back losses against Australia and Spain. But Serbia wasn’t ready to bow out just yet. They bounced back with a dominant win over France, only to be outscored 17-13 by Hungary.
Embed from Getty ImagesFinishing fourth in their group, Serbia entered the quarterfinals in a tough spot. They faced a must-win game against Greece and managed to pull off a narrow 12-11 victory with an incredible last-second goal. Serbia’s experience then shone through as they took control of their semifinal match against the USA. Their dominance carried them through to the finals, where they would beat Croatia for the championship.
Spain Stalls Out
Spain entered the elimination rounds as the team to beat, having dominated the group stage. However, they were up against an experienced Croatian squad that had just won the European Championships earlier in the year. In a tough match, Croatia emerged victorious, ending Spain’s hopes of a medal.
Stellar Underdog Performances
Australia, the USA, and Japan all showed they’re top-tier teams in water polo. Australia almost made it to the semifinals, coming up just short in a penalty shootout, but they had a standout win earlier against Serbia, the future gold medalists. The USA snagged the bronze, their best finish since Beijing 2008. Japan stuck to their usual counter-attack style, making them a tough team to beat during the group stage, giving Serbia a run for their money.
Embed from Getty ImagesWomen’s Tournament Results
USA Falls Short
Team USA suffered an early loss to Spain in the tournament, hinting at what was to come as their Olympic dominance came to an end. With the support of Flava Flav, they had high hopes of securing a fourth consecutive gold medal. However, the competitive landscape has evolved, with Australia, the Netherlands, Spain, Hungary, and Italy all pushing hard to claim the top spot.
Spain Prevails
The Spanish women’s team dominated the tournament, winning every game to claim the gold medal. Their victory was fueled by standout performances, with several players leading the stats tables in goals, assists, and defense. Spain’s unbeaten run and balanced roster cemented their place as a new force in women’s water polo.
Embed from Getty ImagesTournament Observations
VAR, Camera Work, and Commercials
Unfortunately, the biggest losers of the tournament were the viewers. The camera work made it incredibly frustrating to watch for fans, as operators kept cutting away from the action to run replays, switch to pointless underwater angles, or zoom in on player close-ups. There were countless moments when the feed returned from a commercial break only to find that a goal or ejection had been missed.
VAR played a significant role in the tournament, leading to several game-changing red cards that sparked a lot of controversy. One moment involved Team USA’s Johnny Hooper, who got tangled up with another player, was held underwater, and eventually retaliated. The result? He was excluded for the rest of the game, forcing Team USA to play a man down for the next four minutes. Another incident saw Italy’s outside shooter, Condemi, accidentally hit an opponent in the face on a follow-through after a shot. This led to the goal being disallowed, a penalty shot awarded to Hungary, and Italy being down a man for an extended period.
No matter where you stand on the red cards, there’s no denying that VAR had a significant impact on the outcomes of the games.
Shootout After Shootout
There were several crucial shootouts throughout the tournament on both the men’s and women’s sides. The USA secured a bronze medal, Spain advanced to the semifinals, and Italy lost their chance at medaling—all decided by penalty shots. On one hand, these shootouts showcased the intense competition and how evenly matched the top teams have become. On the other, it raises the question: should games at this level really come down to penalty shots without an overtime period?
Standout Players
Top Men’s Water Polo Players
Dušan Mandić absolutely dominated the tournament as Serbia’s team leader, scoring 26 goals and making over 50% of his shots.
Loren Fatovic of Croatia was named MVP by Total Water Polo with 22 goals and 17 assists.
Adrian Weinberg in goal for team USA made clutch saves and steals in several penalty shootouts to help USA finish with the bronze.
Honorable mentions to Yusuke Inaba for being Japan’s top goal scorer, Spain team captain Felipe Peronne led the tournament with 18 assists, and USA’s Ben Hallock earned over 40 ejections throughout the tournament.
Top Women’s Water Polo Players
Bea Ortiz led Spain’s offense with 19 goals, 11 assists, and 6 steals. She was named Total Water Polo’s MVP.
Mertina Terre led Spain’s defense and ended the tournament with a clutch save in the penalty shootout against the Netherlands to give Spain a shot at gold.
Alice Williams scored the most goals in the tournament with 21 for Australia.
Honorable mentions to Maggie Steffens of team USA tied for the most assists with 15, Bronte Halligan finished with a tournament high 13 steals for Australia, and Simone Van De Kraats of the Netherlands led her team to silver with 13 goals and 12 assists.
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