List of men's Olympic water polo tournament records and statistics


This is a list of records and statistics of the men's water polo tournament in the Olympic games ever since the inaugural official edition in 1900.

Confederation statistics

Best performances by tournament

All-time best performances

This is a summary of the best performances of each confederation at the Olympics.
;Legend
ConfederationBest performanceMen's team
Africa – CANA7th
2nd
Asia – AASF4th
Europe – LEN1st, , , , , , , '†, , '†
Oceania – OSA5th

Team statistics

Debut of teams

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Finishes in the top four

Medal table

Champions (results and squads)

Team records

Teams having equal quantities in the tables below are ordered by the tournament the quantity was attained in. If the quantity was attained by more than one team in the same tournament, these teams are ordered alphabetically.
Tournament positions
; Most titles won: 9, .
; Most finishes in the top two: 12, .
; Most finishes in the top three: 15, .
; Most finishes in the top four: 16, .
; Most appearances: 22, .
Consecutive
; Most consecutive medals: 12, .
; Most consecutive golds: 3, ; .
; Most consecutive silvers: 2, ; ; ; .
; Most consecutive bronzes: 2, .
; Most consecutive finishes in the top four: 12, .
; Most consecutive appearances: 18, .
Gaps
; Longest gap between successive titles: 24 years, .
; Longest gap between successive appearances in the top two: 24 years, .
; Longest gap between successive appearances in the top three: 40 years, .
; Longest gap between successive appearances in the top four: 40 years, .
; Longest gap between successive appearances: 56 years, ; .
Host team
; Best finish by host team: Champion: ; ; ; .
Other
; Most finishes in the top two without ever being champion: 4, .
; Most finishes in the top three without ever being champion: 6, ; .
; Most finishes in the top four without ever being champion: 9, .
; Most finishes in the top four without ever being medaled: 3, .

Player statistics

Age records

Multiple appearances (five-time Olympians)

Multiple medalists

Multiple gold medalists

Top goalscorers by tournament

All-time top goalscorers

Top goalkeepers by tournament

The following table is pre-sorted by edition of the Olympics, number of matches played, name of the goalkeeper, respectively.
Stefano Tempesti of Italy holds the record for the most saves by a water polo goalkeeper in a single Olympic tournament, blocking 87 shots in the 2012 edition, and helping the Italian team win the Olympic silver medal. He saved 83 shots at the 2008 Olympics.
;Legend
YearGoalkeeperBirthAgeHeightSavesMatches
played		Saves
per
match		Men's teamFinish
1996Arie van de Bunt81810.12510th of 12
teams
2000Dan Hackett6788.3756th of 12
teams
2004Nikolay Maksimov6287.7503rd of 12
teams
2008Stefano Tempesti83810.3759th of 12
teams
2012Stefano Tempesti 87810.8752nd of 12
teams
2016Slobodan Soro81810.1258th of 12
teams

Sources:
The following table is pre-sorted by number of total saves, number of total Olympic matches played, date of the last Olympic match played, date of the first Olympic match played, name of the goalkeeper, respectively.
Five-time Olympian Stefano Tempesti holds the record for the most shots saved by a water polo goalkeeper at the Olympics since 1996, with 295 saves.
Nikolay Maksimov, representing Russia, saved 178 shots at three Olympics. Eight years later, he represented Kazakhstan at the 2012 London Olympics, blocking 50 shots.
Slobodan Soro, representing Serbia in 2008 and 2012, saved 132 shots. He was a member of the Brazil men's national team that competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics, blocking 81 shots.
;Legend
Sources:
The following table is pre-sorted by edition of the Olympics, number of matches played, name of the sprinter, respectively.
Sprinters are usually the fastest swimmers of the water polo team. If a water polo player won an Olympic medal in swimming, he would be an outstanding sprinter.
Brad Schumacher is the latest example. He won two gold medals for the United States at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics: in the men's 4×100 meter freestyle relay and men's 4×200 meter freestyle relay. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, he was the top sprinter of the men's water polo tournament.
Pietro Figlioli was the top sprinter in 2004 and 2008, representing Australia. Four years later, he was a member of the Italy men's national team that competed at the 2012 London Olympics. He was the joint top sprinter in 2012.
Rhys Howden of Australia was another joint top sprinter in 2012. He was also the top sprinter at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
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YearSprinterBirthAgeHeightSprints
won		Matches
played		 won
per
match		Men's teamFinishOlympic medal in swimming
2000Brad Schumacher2082.5006th of 12
teams		1996 – Men's 4×100m freestyle relay
1996 – Men's 4×200m freestyle relay
2004Pietro Figlioli2483.0009th of 12
teams
2008Pietro Figlioli2173.0008th of 12
teams
2012Pietro Figlioli1982.3752nd of 12
teams
2012Rhys Howden1982.3757th of 12
teams
2016Rhys Howden1853.6009th of 12
teams

Source:
The following table is pre-sorted by number of total sprints won, number of total Olympic matches played, date of the last Olympic match played, date of the first Olympic match played, name of the sprinter, respectively.
Pietro Figlioli holds the record for the most sprints won by a water polo player at the Olympics since 2000, with 78 sprints won at four Olympics.
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Source:

Most successful coaches

Medals as coach and player