List of Olympic medalists in water polo (men)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Men’s water polo has been part of the Summer Olympics program since 1900. Hungary men’s national water polo team has won sixteen Olympic medals, becoming the most successful country in men’s tournament.

There are fifty-nine male athletes who have won three or more Olympic medals in water polo. Dezső Gyarmati of Hungary is the only athlete of either gender to win five Olympic medals in water polo.[1]

Abbreviations[edit]

Medalists by tournament[edit]

Overall multiple medalists[edit]

As of the 2020 Summer Olympics, 59 male athletes have won three or more Olympic medals in water polo.

By tournament[edit]

The following table is pre-sorted by edition of the Olympics (in ascending order), name of the team (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 11 August 2021.

Legend
Year Total Five-time Olympic medalist Four-time Olympic medalist Three-time Olympic medalist
1900 0 0 0 0
1908 0 0 0 0
1912 1 0 0  Belgium: Oscar Grégoire 1
1920 7 0 0  Belgium*: Joseph Pletincx
 Great Britain: Paul Radmilovic, Charles Sydney Smith (GK)
 Sweden: Robert Andersson, Pontus Hanson, Harald Julin, Torsten Kumfeldt
7
1924 2 0  Belgium: Joseph Pletincx 1  Belgium: Albert Durant 1
1928 0 0 0 0
1932 0 0 0 0
1936 4 0 0  Belgium: Gérard Blitz
 Germany*: Fritz Gunst
 Hungary: Olivér Halassy, Márton Homonnai
4
1948 0 0 0 0
1952 0 0 0 0
1956 3 0 0  Hungary: Dezső Gyarmati, László Jeney (GK), István Szívós Sr. 3
1960 4 0  Hungary: Dezső Gyarmati, László Jeney (GK) 2  Hungary: György Kárpáti, Kálmán Markovits 2
1964 6  Hungary: Dezső Gyarmati 1  Hungary: György Kárpáti 1  Hungary: Ottó Boros (GK), Tivadar Kanizsa, Mihály Mayer
 Soviet Union: Viktor Ageyev
4
Year Total Five-time Olympic medalist Four-time Olympic medalist Three-time Olympic medalist
1968 6 0  Hungary: Mihály Mayer 1  Hungary: András Bodnár, Zoltán Dömötör, László Felkai, János Konrád
 Soviet Union: Vladimir Semyonov
5
1972 3 0  Hungary: András Bodnár 1  Hungary: Dénes Pócsik
 Soviet Union: Leonid Osipov
2
1976 4 0 0  Hungary: Ferenc Konrád, Endre Molnár (GK), László Sárosi, István Szívós Jr. 4
1980 5 0  Hungary: Endre Molnár (GK), István Szívós Jr. 2  Hungary: Tamás Faragó
 Soviet Union*: Aleksei Barkalov, Yevgeny Sharonov
3
1984 0 0 0 0
1988 0 0 0 0
1992 1 0 0 International Olympic Committee Unified Team: Yevgeny Sharonov (GK) 1
1996 1 0 0  Croatia: Perica Bukić 1
2000 0 0 0 0
2004 2 0 0  Russia: Dmitry Gorshkov, Nikolay Kozlov 2
2008 10 0 0  Hungary: Tibor Benedek, Péter Biros, Tamás Kásás, Gergely Kiss, Tamás Molnár, Zoltán Szécsi (GK)
 Serbia: Aleksandar Ćirić, Aleksandar Šapić, Dejan Savić, Vladimir Vujasinović
10
2012 1 0 0  Serbia: Vanja Udovičić 1
2016 4 0 0  Serbia: Filip Filipović, Živko Gocić, Duško Pijetlović, Andrija Prlainović 4
2020 7 0  Serbia: Filip Filipović, Duško Pijetlović, Andrija Prlainović 3  Serbia: Milan Aleksić, Dušan Mandić, Stefan Mitrović, Gojko Pijetlović (GK) 4
Year Total Five-time Olympic medalist Four-time Olympic medalist Three-time Olympic medalist

Sources:

By confederation[edit]

Last updated: 11 August 2021.

By team[edit]

Last updated: 11 August 2021.

Legend

By position[edit]

Last updated: 11 August 2021.

Position Number of multi-time Olympians
Five-time Four-time Three-time Total
Field player 1 8 41 50
Goalkeeper 0 2 7 9
Total 1 10 48 59

Four or more Olympic medals[edit]

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).[1]

Filip Filipović, Duško Pijetlović and Andrija Prlainović, all representing Serbia, won four consecutive Olympic medals between 2008 and 2021.[3][4][5]

Legend

Sources:

Three Olympic medals[edit]

The following table is pre-sorted by 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.

Forty-eight male athletes won three Olympic medals in water polo.

Legend

Sources:

Multiple medalists by team[edit]

The following tables are 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.

Legend
  • Year* – As host team
  • Team – Defunct team

Belgium[edit]

  • Men’s national team:  Belgium
  • Team appearances: 11 (1900, 1908–1928, 1936–1952, 1960–1964)
  • As host team: 1920*
  • Number of five-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Number of four-time Olympic medalists: 1
  • Number of three-time Olympic medalists: 3
  • Last updated: 1 May 2021.
Legend
Male athletes who won three or more Olympic medals in water polo
Rk Player Birth Height Pos Water polo tournaments Period
(age of
first/last)
Medals Ref
1 2 3 4 5 G S B T
1 Joseph Pletincx 1888 FP 1908 1912 1920 1924 16 years
(20/36)
0 3 1 4 [12]
2 Oscar Grégoire 1877 FP 1900 1908 1912 12 years
(23/35)
0 2 1 3 [45]
Albert Durant 1892 GK 1912 1920 1924 12 years
(20/32)
0 2 1 3 [46]
Gérard Blitz 1901 FP 1920 1924 1928 1936 16 years
(19/35)
0 2 1 3 [47]

Croatia[edit]

  • Men’s national team:  Croatia
  • Team appearances: 7 (1996–2020)
  • As host team: —
  • Related team: Yugoslavia
  • Number of four-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Number of three-time Olympic medalists: 1
  • Last updated: 1 May 2021.
Abbreviation
  • CRO – Croatia
  • YUG – Yugoslavia
Male athletes who won three or more Olympic medals in water polo
Rk Player Birth Height Pos Water polo tournaments Period
(age of
first/last)
Medals Ref
1 2 3 4 5 G S B T
1 Perica Bukić 1966 1.98 m
(6 ft 6 in)
FP 1984
YUG
1988
YUG
1996
CRO
12 years
(18/30)
2 1 0 3 [25]

France[edit]

  • Men’s national team:  France
  • Team appearances: 11 (1900*, 1912–1928, 1936–1948, 1960, 1988–1992, 2016)
  • As host team: 1900*, 1924*
  • Number of four-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Number of three-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Last updated: 1 May 2021.

Germany[edit]

  • Men’s national team:  Germany
  • Team appearances: 9 (1900, 1928–1936*, 1952, 1992–1996, 2004–2008)
  • As host team: 1936*
  • Related team: West Germany
  • Number of four-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Number of three-time Olympic medalists: 1
  • Last updated: 1 May 2021.
Legend
Male athletes who won three or more Olympic medals in water polo
Rk Player Birth Height Pos Water polo tournaments Period
(age of
first/last)
Medals Ref
1 2 3 4 5 G S B T
1 Fritz Gunst 1908 FP 1928 1932 1936 8 years
(19/27)
1 2 0 3 [33]

Great Britain[edit]

  • Men’s national team:  Great Britain
  • Team appearances: 11 (1900, 1908*–1928, 1936–1956, 2012*)
  • As host team: 1908*, 1948*, 2012*
  • Number of four-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Number of three-time Olympic medalists: 2
  • Last updated: 1 May 2021.
Legend
Male athletes who won three or more Olympic medals in water polo
Rk Player Birth Height Pos Water polo tournaments Period
(age of
first/last)
Medals Ref
1 2 3 4 5 G S B T
1 Paul Radmilovic 1886 1.80 m
(5 ft 11 in)
FP 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 20 years
(22/42)
3 0 0 3 [13]
Charles Smith 1879 1.86 m
(6 ft 1 in)
GK 1908 1912 1920 1924 16 years
(29/45)
3 0 0 3 [14]

Greece[edit]

  • Men’s national team:  Greece
  • Team appearances: 16 (1920–1924, 1948, 1968–1972, 1980–2020)
  • As host team: 2004*
  • Number of four-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Number of three-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Last updated: 11 August 2021.

Hungary[edit]

  • Men’s national team:  Hungary
  • Team appearances: 23 (1912, 1924–1980, 1988–2020)
  • As host team: —
  • Number of five-time Olympic medalists: 1
  • Number of four-time Olympic medalists: 6
  • Number of three-time Olympic medalists: 19
  • Last updated: 11 August 2021.
Male athletes who won three or more Olympic medals in water polo
Rk Player Birth Height Pos Water polo tournaments Period
(age of
first/last)
Medals Ref
1 2 3 4 5 G S B T
1 Dezső Gyarmati 1927 1.86 m
(6 ft 1 in)
FP 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 16 years
(20/36)
3 1 1 5 [1]
2 György Kárpáti 1935 1.67 m
(5 ft 6 in)
FP 1952 1956 1960 1964 12 years
(17/29)
3 0 1 4 [6]
3 László Jeney 1923 1.81 m
(5 ft 11 in)
GK 1948 1952 1956 1960 12 years
(25/37)
2 1 1 4 [7]
4 Mihály Mayer 1933 1.85 m
(6 ft 1 in)
FP 1956 1960 1964 1968 12 years
(22/34)
2 0 2 4 [8]
5 András Bodnár 1942 1.80 m
(5 ft 11 in)
FP 1960 1964 1968 1972 12 years
(18/30)
1 1 2 4 [9]
Endre Molnár 1945 1.85 m
(6 ft 1 in)
GK 1968 1972 1976 1980 12 years
(23/35)
1 1 2 4 [10]
István Szívós Jr. 1948 2.02 m
(6 ft 8 in)
FP 1968 1972 1976 1980 12 years
(20/32)
1 1 2 4 [11]
8 Tibor Benedek 1972 1.90 m
(6 ft 3 in)
FP 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 16 years
(20/36)
3 0 0 3 [15]
Péter Biros 1976 1.96 m
(6 ft 5 in)
FP 2000 2004 2008 2012 12 years
(24/36)
3 0 0 3 [16]
Tamás Kásás 1976 2.00 m
(6 ft 7 in)
FP 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 16 years
(20/36)
3 0 0 3 [17]
Gergely Kiss 1977 1.98 m
(6 ft 6 in)
FP 2000 2004 2008 2012 12 years
(22/34)
3 0 0 3 [18]
Tamás Molnár 1975 1.93 m
(6 ft 4 in)
FP 2000 2004 2008 8 years
(25/33)
3 0 0 3 [19]
Zoltán Szécsi 1977 1.98 m
(6 ft 6 in)
GK 2000 2004 2008 2012 12 years
(22/34)
3 0 0 3 [20]
14 Olivér Halassy 1909 1.55 m
(5 ft 1 in)
FP 1928 1932 1936 8 years
(18/27)
2 1 0 3 [21]
Márton Homonnai 1906 1.85 m
(6 ft 1 in)
FP 1924 1928 1932 1936 12 years
(18/30)
2 1 0 3 [22]
István Szívós Sr. 1920 1.85 m
(6 ft 1 in)
FP 1948 1952 1956 8 years
(27/36)
2 1 0 3 [23]
17 Kálmán Markovits 1931 1.78 m
(5 ft 10 in)
FP 1952 1956 1960 8 years
(20/28)
2 0 1 3 [26]
Ottó Boros 1929 1.86 m
(6 ft 1 in)
GK 1956 1960 1964 8 years
(27/35)
2 0 1 3 [27]
Tivadar Kanizsa 1933 1.80 m
(5 ft 11 in)
FP 1956 1960 1964 8 years
(23/31)
2 0 1 3 [28]
20 Dénes Pócsik 1940 1.95 m
(6 ft 5 in)
FP 1964 1968 1972 8 years
(24/32)
1 1 1 3 [35]
Ferenc Konrád 1945 1.83 m
(6 ft 0 in)
FP 1968 1972 1976 8 years
(23/31)
1 1 1 3 [36]
László Sárosi 1946 1.83 m
(6 ft 0 in)
FP 1968 1972 1976 8 years
(22/29)
1 1 1 3 [37]
Tamás Faragó 1952 1.94 m
(6 ft 4 in)
FP 1972 1976 1980 8 years
(20/27)
1 1 1 3 [38]
24 Zoltán Dömötör 1935 1.86 m
(6 ft 1 in)
FP 1960 1964 1968 8 years
(25/33)
1 0 2 3 [40]
László Felkai 1941 1.80 m
(5 ft 11 in)
FP 1960 1964 1968 8 years
(19/27)
1 0 2 3 [41]
János Konrád 1941 1.83 m
(6 ft 0 in)
FP 1960 1964 1968 8 years
(18/27)
1 0 2 3 [42]
Rk Player Birth Height Pos 1 2 3 4 5 Period
(age of
first/last)
G S B T Ref
Water polo tournaments Medals

Italy[edit]

  • Men’s national team:  Italy
  • Team appearances: 21 (1920–1924, 1948–2020)
  • As host team: 1960*
  • Number of four-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Number of three-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Last updated: 1 May 2021.

Netherlands[edit]

  • Men’s national team:  Netherlands
  • Team appearances: 17 (1908, 1920–1928*, 1936–1952, 1960–1984, 1992–2000)
  • As host team: 1928*
  • Number of four-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Number of three-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Last updated: 1 May 2021.

Russia[edit]

  • Men’s national team:  Russia
  • Team appearances: 3 (1996–2004)
  • As host team: —
  • Related teams: Soviet Union, Unified Team[d]
  • Number of four-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Number of three-time Olympic medalists: 2
  • Last updated: 1 May 2021.
Abbreviation
  • EUN – Unified Team
  • RUS – Russia
Male athletes who won three or more Olympic medals in water polo
Rk Player Birth Height Pos Water polo tournaments Period
(age of
first/last)
Medals Ref
1 2 3 4 5 G S B T
1 Dmitry Gorshkov 1967 1.80 m
(5 ft 11 in)
FP 1992
EUN
1996
RUS
2000
RUS
2004
RUS
12 years
(25/37)
0 1 2 3 [54]
Nikolay Kozlov 1972 1.92 m
(6 ft 4 in)
FP 1992
EUN
1996
RUS
2000
RUS
2004
RUS
12 years
(20/32)
0 1 2 3 [55]

Serbia[edit]

  • Men’s national team:  Serbia
  • Team appearances: 4 (2008–2020)
  • As host team: —
  • Related teams: Yugoslavia, FR Yugoslavia[c], Serbia and Montenegro
  • Number of four-time Olympic medalists: 3
  • Number of three-time Olympic medalists: 11
  • Last updated: 11 August 2021.
Abbreviation
  • FRY – FR Yugoslavia
  • SCG – Serbia and Montenegro
  • SRB – Serbia
Male athletes who won three or more Olympic medals in water polo
Rk Player Birth Height Pos Water polo tournaments Period
(age of
first/last)
Medals Ref
1 2 3 4 5 G S B T
1 Filip Filipović 1987 1.96 m
(6 ft 5 in)
FP 2008 2012 2016 2020 13 years
(21/34)
2 0 2 4 [3]
Duško Pijetlović 1985 1.97 m
(6 ft 6 in)
FP 2008 2012 2016 2020 13 years
(23/36)
2 0 2 4 [4]
Andrija Prlainović 1987 1.87 m
(6 ft 2 in)
FP 2008 2012 2016 2020 13 years
(21/34)
2 0 2 4 [5]
4 Milan Aleksić 1986 1.93 m
(6 ft 4 in)
FP 2012 2016 2020 9 years
(26/35)
2 0 1 3 [29]
Dušan Mandić 1994 2.02 m
(6 ft 8 in)
FP 2012 2016 2020 9 years
(18/37)
2 0 1 3 [30]
Stefan Mitrović 1988 1.95 m
(6 ft 5 in)
FP 2012 2016 2020 9 years
(24/33)
2 0 1 3 [31]
Gojko Pijetlović 1983 1.94 m
(6 ft 4 in)
GK 2012 2016 2020 9 years
(29/38)
2 0 1 3 [32]
4 Slobodan Nikić 1983 1.97 m
(6 ft 6 in)
FP 2004
SCG
2012
SRB
2016
SRB
12 years
(21/33)
1 1 1 3 [39]
9 Živko Gocić 1982 1.93 m
(6 ft 4 in)
FP 2008 2012 2016 8 years
(25/33)
1 0 2 3 [44]
10 Aleksandar Ćirić 1977 1.92 m
(6 ft 4 in)
FP 2000
FRY
2004
SCG
2008
SRB
8 years
(22/30)
0 1 2 3 [56]
Aleksandar Šapić 1978 1.88 m
(6 ft 2 in)
FP 1996
FRY
2000
FRY
2004
SCG
2008
SRB
12 years
(18/30)
0 1 2 3 [57]
Dejan Savić 1975 1.90 m
(6 ft 3 in)
FP 1996
FRY
2000
FRY
2004
SCG
2008
SRB
12 years
(21/33)
0 1 2 3 [58]
Vladimir Vujasinović 1973 1.87 m
(6 ft 2 in)
FP 1996
FRY
2000
FRY
2004
SCG
2008
SRB
12 years
(22/34)
0 1 2 3 [59]
Vanja Udovičić 1982 1.93 m
(6 ft 4 in)
FP 2004
SCG
2008
SRB
2012
SRB
8 years
(21/29)
0 1 2 3 [60]
Rk Player Birth Height Pos 1 2 3 4 5 Period
(age of
first/last)
G S B T Ref
Water polo tournaments Medals

Serbia and Montenegro[edit]

Notes:

Soviet Union[edit]

  • Men’s national team:  Soviet Union
  • Team appearances: 9 (1952–1980*, 1988)
  • As host team: 1980*
  • Related teams: Unified Team[d], Russia
  • Number of four-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Number of three-time Olympic medalists: 4
  • Last updated: 1 May 2021.
Legend
Male athletes who won three or more Olympic medals in water polo
Rk Player Birth Height Pos Water polo tournaments Period
(age of
first/last)
Medals Ref
1 2 3 4 5 G S B T
1 Aleksei Barkalov 1946 1.80 m
(5 ft 11 in)
FP 1968 1972 1976 1980 12 years
(22/34)
2 1 0 3 [24]
2 Leonid Osipov 1943 1.87 m
(6 ft 2 in)
FP 1964 1968 1972 8 years
(21/29)
1 1 1 3 [34]
3 Vladimir Semyonov 1938 1.84 m
(6 ft 0 in)
FP 1960 1964 1968 8 years
(22/30)
0 2 1 3 [48]
Viktor Ageyev 1936 1.84 m
(6 ft 0 in)
FP 1956 1960 1964 8 years
(20/28)
0 1 2 3 [53]

Note:

Spain[edit]

  • Men’s national team:  Spain
  • Team appearances: 18 (1920–1928, 1948–1952, 1968–1972, 1980–2020)
  • As host team: 1992*
  • Number of four-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Number of three-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Last updated: 1 May 2021.

Sweden[edit]

  • Men’s national team:  Sweden
  • Team appearances: 8 (1908–1924, 1936–1952, 1980)
  • As host team: 1912*
  • Number of four-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Number of three-time Olympic medalists: 4
  • Last updated: 1 May 2021.
Legend
Male athletes who won three or more Olympic medals in water polo
Rk Player Birth Height Pos Water polo tournaments Period
(age of
first/last)
Medals Ref
1 2 3 4 5 G S B T
1 Robert Andersson 1886 FP 1908 1912 1920 12 years
(21/33)
0 1 2 3 [49]
Pontus Hanson 1884 FP 1908 1912 1920 12 years
(24/36)
0 1 2 3 [50]
Harald Julin 1890 FP 1908 1912 1920 12 years
(18/30)
0 1 2 3 [51]
Torsten Kumfeldt 1886 GK 1908 1912 1920 12 years
(22/34)
0 1 2 3 [52]

Unified Team[edit]

  • Men’s national team: International Olympic Committee Unified Team[d]
  • Team appearances: 1 (1992)
  • As host team: —
  • Related teams: Soviet Union, Russia
  • Number of four-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Number of three-time Olympic medalists: 1
  • Last updated: 1 May 2021.
Legend and abbreviation
  •     – Hosts
  • EUN – Unified Team
  • URS – Soviet Union
Male athletes who won three or more Olympic medals in water polo
Rk Player Birth Height Pos Water polo tournaments Period
(age of
first/last)
Medals Ref
1 2 3 4 5 G S B T
1 Yevgeny Sharonov 1958 1.89 m
(6 ft 2 in)
GK 1980
URS
1988
URS
1992
EUN
12 years
(21/33)
1 0 2 3 [43]

Notes:

United States[edit]

  • Men’s national team:  United States
  • Team appearances: 22 (1920–1972, 1984*–2020)
  • As host team: 1932*, 1984*, 1996*
  • Number of four-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Number of three-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Last updated: 1 May 2021.

West Germany[edit]

  • Men’s national team:  West Germany
  • Team appearances: 5 (1968–1976, 1984–1988)
  • As host team: 1972*
  • Related teams: Germany
  • Number of four-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Number of three-time Olympic medalists: 0
  • Last updated: 1 May 2021.

Yugoslavia[edit]

Note:

FR Yugoslavia[edit]

Notes:

See also[edit]

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ There was no bronze medal match for the 1908 Games in London. Belgium beat the Netherlands in the only one first round match and beats Sweden in the only one semifinal.
  3. ^ a b c d e 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”.
  4. ^ a b c d 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.

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

Official Reports (IOC)[edit]

PDF documents in the LA84 Foundation Digital Library:

Official Results Books (IOC)[edit]

PDF documents in the LA84 Foundation Digital Library:

PDF documents on the FINA website:

PDF documents in the Olympic World Library:

PDF documents on the International Olympic Committee website:

Official Reports (FINA)[edit]

PDF documents on the FINA website:

Official website (IOC)[edit]

Water polo on the International Olympic Committee website:

Olympedia[edit]

Water polo on the Olympedia website:

Sports Reference[edit]

Water polo on the Sports Reference website:

Todor66[edit]

Water polo on the Todor66 website:

External links[edit]