ACOG - Aquatics: Water Polo - IBM

Who to Watch in Water Polo

Pool A Pool B
The Netherlands Italy
Spain Ukraine
Hungary Croatia
Russia Greece
Germany Romania
Yugoslavia United States

Croatia (CRO)

Making its first appearance in the Olympic tournament, Croatia earned its spot at the Games with a sixth-place finish at the 1995 FINA World Cup. The Croatians placed fourth at both the 1994 World Championships and 1995 European Championships with a team that included some rising young stars in addition to some veteran Olympic talent. A two-time gold medalist for Yugoslavia in 1984 and 1988, Perica BUKIC could become only the sixth player in the sport's history to earn three Olympic gold medals. BUKIC scored four goals in Croatia's 11-10 victory over defending Olympic champion Italy at the U.S. Open Water Polo Tournament in May while Josko KREKOVIC added three goals against Brazil.

Germany (GER)

One of the original Olympic water polo teams, Germany finished fifth at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Berlin to earn its trip to the Olympic Games. One of the team's top scorers, Renee REIMANN is a veteran of the past two German Olympic teams while Raul De la Pena also competed as a member of the 1992, sixth-place German squad. Germany won the gold medal in 1928 and earned silver medals in 1932 and 1936. The team finished ninth at the 1994 World Championships.

Greece (GRE)

The second-place team at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Berlin, Greece enters its 10th Olympic tournament in search of its first water polo medal. Theodore LOURANTOS leads a balanced Greek scoring attack after scoring seven goals at the 1995 World Cup. Konstandinos LOUDIS and George MAVROTAS scored six goals each at the World Cup as Greece placed eighth in the tournament. Always a tough draw at international events, Greece recorded its best Olympic finish in 1984 when the team lost to the Federal Republic of Germany in the bronze medal game.

Hungary (HUN)

The most successful water polo team in Olympic history, the Hungarians have won more medals (12), more gold medals (6) and more games (72) than any other team in the 21 previous Olympic tournaments. Following a sixth-place finish at the 1992 Olympic Games, the Hungarians may be back to their gold-medal form after winning the IX Water Polo World Cup in 1995. Tibor BENEDEK ranked among the leading scorers at the Olympic-qualifying World Cup with 10 goals while two-time Olympian Balazs VINCZE added six scores. Hungary won a medal at every Olympic Games from 1928-80.

Italy (ITA)

The defending Olympic champion, Italy spent the last four years sweeping through the world's most prestigious events. In addition to the 1992 Olympic Games, the Italians won gold medals at the 1993 FINA World Cup, 1993 European Championships and the 1994 World Championships. The Italians have survived multiple roster changes resulting from retirements and the development of new players and placed second at the 1995 World Cup. Roberto Calcaterra ranked third in scoring at the World Cup tournament with nine goals. Veteran goalkeeper Francesco Attolico and team captain Amedo Pomilio remain the mainstays of the Italian team after guiding the squad to its 15th appearance at the Games.

Netherlands (NED)

Only two teams have participated in more Olympic tournaments than the Netherlands, and the experience may begin to pay off for the persistent Dutch. The Dutch last won a medal at the Games in 1972 when they added a bronze medal to the one they won in 1948. But following an eighth-place finish at the 1994 World Championships, veteran Hans NIEUWENBURG and top scorer Marco Kunz could help the squad improve on its 42-38-21 Olympic record. The Netherlands earned its spot at the Games with a third-place finish at the Olympic Games Qualifying tournament in Berlin, and finished seventh in the eight-team IX Water Polo World Cup in 1995.

Romania (ROM)

One of the surprise entries in the Olympic field, Romania upset Australia in the early rounds of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament to earn a spot at the Games. Making their 8th appearance at the Games and their first since 1980, the Romanians earned their best finish at the Games in 1976 when they placed fourth. Romania finished 13th at the 1994 World Championships.

Russia (RUS)

Maintaining its place among the international water polo elite, Russia placed third at the 1994 World Championships and earned its spot in the Olympic tournament with another third-place finish at the IX Water Polo World Cup. Playing on the bronze-medal Unified Team in 1992, Dmitriy APANASENKO was the tournament's third leading scorer at the Barcelona Games. Nikolay KOSLOV and Sergey MARKOCH are both two-time Olympic bronze medalists, playing on the 1988 Soviet Union squad and the 1992 Unified Team.

Spain (ESP)

Spain captured its first-ever Olympic water polo medal with a second-place finish at the 1992 Seoul Games. Returning from the silver-medal team, Manuel ESTIARTE, Pedro GARCIA and Salvador GOMEZ scored seven goals each at the IX Water Polo World Cup to rank among the tournament's leading scorers. A two-time Olympic veteran, goalkeeper Jesus ROLLAN ranked second in overall saves in both the 1988 and 1992 Olympic tournaments. Spain finished fifth at the IX Water Polo World Cup to earn its 12th trip to the Olympic Games.

Ukraine (UKR)

Competing in its first Olympic Games as an independent republic, Ukraine finished fourth at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament to earn its spot at the Games. Although new to the Games, Ukraine has produced an abundance of top players including Viktor BERENDYUGA and Nikolay SMIRNOV, who earned bronze medals for the Soviet Union in 1988, and Aleksey BARKALOV who won a gold medal with the Soviets in 1980. Ukraine finished seventh at the 1995 European Championships.

United States (USA)

The only non-European nation to win an Olympic water polo medal, the United States has stepped to the victory podium eight times to rank second only to Hungary's 12. Goalkeeper Chris DUPLANTY is a two-time Olympian for the U.S. team and a member of the 1988 silver-medal squad while Alex ROUSSEAU and Kirk Everist also own Olympic experience for an otherwise young American team. The team's leading scorer and one of the world's top 2-meter players, Chris Humbert was the top goal scorer at the 1995 World Cup with 10 goals. The U.S. team won silver medals in 1984 and 1988 but lost in the bronze medal match to the Unified Team in 1992.

Yugoslavia (YUG)

The three-time Olympic champion and two-time world champion, Yugoslavia returns to the Olympic water polo pool after missing the 1992 Games due to sanctions by the International Olympic Committee. However the Yugoslavians are back in 1996 and out to recapture the gold medals they won in 1984 and 1988. Two-time gold medalist Igor MILANOVIC remains one of the game's most dangerous offensive threats while Peter TRBOJEVIC added the game-tying goal in Yugoslavia's 6-6 draw with the United States in May's U.S. Open. Goalkeeper Aleksander SOSTAR is a veteran of the 1988 gold-medal winning team. Yugoslavia won the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Berlin to earn its 13th trip to the Olympic Games.

This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publication Department. Written by Howard Thomas.


Olympic Factoid
Closing Ceremony of the 1996 Games involved a crew of 2,100 who worked with more than 3,500 performers as well as thousands of athletes who celebrated on the field of Olympic Stadium.