National team appearances in the women's Olympic water polo tournament

This article presents the national team appearances in the women's Olympic water polo tournament since the inaugural official edition in 2000.

As of 2016, Thirteen women's national water polo teams from five continents have competed at the Summer Olympics. Four teams have won all five tournaments. The inaugural winners in 2000 were Australia; the current champions are United States. The most successful team is currently United States women's team, who has won the Olympic title on two occasions.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Abbreviations

Apps	Appearances	Rk	Rank	Ref	Reference
p.	page	pp.	pages

Team statistics

Comprehensive team results by tournament

Note: Results of Olympic qualification tournaments are not included.

Legend

1st – Champions
2nd – Runners-up
3rd – Third place
4th – Fourth place
Q – Qualified for forthcoming tournament
– Hosts

Abbreviation

stats – Olympic water polo team statistics

Women's team^[1]	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020	2024	Years
Africa – CANA (1 team)
South Africa						10th	WD	1
Americas – UANA (3 teams)
Women's team^[1]	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020	2024	Years
Brazil					8th			1
Canada (stats)	5th	7th				7th	8th	4
United States (stats)	2nd	3rd	2nd	1st	1st	1st	4th	7
Asia – AASF (3 teams)
Women's team^[1]	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020	2024	Years
China (stats)			5th	5th	7th	8th	10th	5
Japan						9th		1
Kazakhstan	6th	8th						2
Europe – LEN (9 teams)
Women's team^[1]	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020	2024	Years
France							9th	1
Great Britain				8th				1
Greece (stats)		2nd	8th				7th	3
Hungary (stats)		6th	4th	4th	4th	3rd	5th	6
Italy (stats)		1st	6th	7th	2nd		6th	5
Netherlands (stats)	4th		1st			6th	3rd	4
ROC (stats)						4th		1
Russia (stats)	3rd	5th	7th	6th	3rd			5
Spain (stats)				2nd	5th	2nd	1st	4
Oceania – OSA (1 team)
Women's team^[1]	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020	2024	Years
Australia (stats)	1st	4th	3rd	3rd	6th	5th	2nd	7

Total teams	6	8	8	8	8	10	10

Debut of teams

Last updated: 7 January 2024.

Legend

Team^* – Host team

#	Year^[1]	Debuting teams					Number	Cumulative total
#	Year^[1]	Africa	Americas	Asia	Europe	Oceania	Number	Cumulative total
1	2000	–	Canada, United States	Kazakhstan	Netherlands, Russia	Australia^*	6	6
2	2004	–	–	–	Greece^*, Hungary, Italy	–	3	9
3	2008	–	–	China^*	–	–	1	10
4	2012	–	–	–	Great Britain^*, Spain	–	2	12
5	2016	–	Brazil^*	–	–	–	1	13
6	2020	South Africa	–	Japan^*	–	–	2	15
7	2024	–	–	–	France^*	–	1	16
Total		1	3	3	8	1	16	16

Number of appearances by team

The following table is pre-sorted by number of appearances (in descending order), year of the last appearance (in ascending order), year of the first appearance (in ascending order), name of the team (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 7 August 2021.

Legend and abbreviation

Year^* – As host team
Apps – Appearances
stats – Olympic water polo team statistics

**Number of appearances by team**
Rk	Women's team^[1]	Apps	Record streak	Active streak	Debut	Most recent	Best finish	Confederation
1	Australia (stats)	7	7	7	2000^*	2024	Champions	Oceania – OSA
1	United States (stats)	6	7	7	2000	2024	Champions	Americas – UANA
3	Russia (stats)	6	6	0	2000	2020	Third place	Europe – LEN
3	Hungary (stats)	6	6	6	2004	2024	Fourth place	Europe – LEN
6	Italy (stats)	5	4	1	2004	2024	Champions	Europe – LEN
6	China (stats)	5	5	5	2008^*	2024	Fifth place	Asia – AASF
7	Canada (stats)	4	2	2	2000	2024	Fifth place	Americas – UANA
	Netherlands (stats)	4	2	2	2000	2024	Champions	Europe – LEN
	Spain (stats)	4	4	4	2012	2024	Champions	Europe – LEN
10	Greece (stats)	3	2	1	2004^*	2024	Runners-up	Europe – LEN
11	Kazakhstan	2	2	0	2000	2004	Sixth place	Asia – AASF
12	Great Britain	1	1	0	2012^*	2012^*	Eighth place	Europe – LEN
	Brazil	1	1	0	2016^*	2016^*	Eighth place	Americas – UANA
	Japan	1	1	0	2020^*	2020^*	Ninth place	Asia – AASF
	South Africa	1	1	0	2020	2020	Tenth place	Africa – CANA
	France	1	1	1	2024^*	2024^*	Ninth place	Europe – LEN
Rk	Women's team	Apps	Record streak	Active streak	Debut	Most recent	Best finish	Confederation

Results of host teams

Last updated: 7 August 2021.

Legend and abbreviation

Year^* – As host team
Finish^‡ – It is the best performance of the team
Apps – Appearances

#	Year^[1]	Host team	Finish	Best finish	Apps	Confederation
1	2000	Australia	1st^‡ of 6 teams	Champions (2000^*)	5	Oceania – OSA
2	2004	Greece	2nd^‡ of 8 teams	Runners-up (2004^*)	2	Europe – LEN
3	2008	China	5th^‡ of 8 teams	Fifth place (2008^*, 2012)	3	Asia – AASF
4	2012	Great Britain	8th^‡ of 8 teams	Eighth place (2012^*)	1	Europe – LEN
5	2016	Brazil	8th^‡ of 8 teams	Eighth place (2016^*)	1	Americas – UANA
6	2020	Japan	9th^‡ of 10 teams	Ninth place (2020^*)	1	Asia – AASF

Results of defending champions and runners-up

Last updated: 7 August 2021.

Legend

Team^* – Host team

#	Year^[1]	Defending champions	Finish	Defending runners-up	Finish
1	2000
2	2004	Australia	4th of 8 teams	United States	3rd of 8 teams
3	2008	Italy	6th of 8 teams	Greece	8th of 8 teams
4	2012	Netherlands	did not qualify	United States	1st of 8 teams
5	2016	United States	1st of 8 teams	Spain	5th of 8 teams
6	2020	United States	1st of 10 teams	Italy	did not qualify

Best finishes by team

The following table is pre-sorted by best finish (in descending order), name of the team (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 7 August 2024.

Legend and abbreviation

Year^* – As host team
Apps – Appearances
stats – Olympic water polo team statistics

**Best finishes by team**
Rk	Women's team^[1]	Best finish	Apps	Confederation
1	United States (stats)	Champions (2002, 2006)	7	Americas – UANA
2	Australia (stats)	Champions (2000^*)	7	Oceania – OSA
	Italy (stats)	Champions (2004)	5	Europe – LEN
	Netherlands (stats)	Champions (2008)	4	Europe – LEN
	Spain (stats)	Champions (2024)	4	Europe – LEN
6	Greece (stats)	Runners-up (2004^*)	3	Europe – LEN
7	Russia (stats)	Third place (2000, 2016)	6	Europe – LEN
8	Hungary (stats)	Fourth place (2008, 2012, 2016)	6	Europe – LEN
9	China (stats)	Fifth place (2008^*, 2012)	5	Asia – AASF
10	Canada (stats)	Fifth place (2000)	4	Americas – UANA
11	Kazakhstan	Sixth place (2000)	2	Asia – AASF
12	Brazil	Eighth place (2016^*)	1	Americas – UANA
12	Great Britain	Eighth place (2012^*)	1	Europe – LEN
14	Japan	Ninth place (2020^*)	1	Asia – AASF
14	France	Eighth place (2024^*)	1	Europe – LEN
15	South Africa	Tenth place (2020)	1	Africa – CANA
Rk	Women's team	Best finish	Apps	Confederation

Finishes in the top four

The following table is pre-sorted by total finishes in the top four (in descending order), number of Olympic gold medals (in descending order), number of Olympic silver medals (in descending order), number of Olympic bronze medals (in descending order), name of the team (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 7 August 2021.

Legend

Year^* – As host team

Rk	Women's team^[1]	Total	Champions	Runners-up	Third place	Fourth place	First	Last
1	United States	6	3 (2012, 2016, 2020)	2 (2000, 2008)	1 (2004)	1 (2024)	2000	2024
2	Australia	5	1 (2000^*)	1 (2024)	3 (2008, 2012)	1 (2004)	2000	2024
3	Hungary	4			1 (2020)	3 (2008, 2012, 2016)	2008	2020
4	Spain	3	1 (2024)	2 (2012, 2020)			2012	2024
5	Netherlands	3	1 (2008)		1 (2024)	1 (2000)	2000	2024
6	Italy	2	1 (2004)	1 (2016)			2004	2016
7	Russia	2			2 (2000, 2016)		2000	2016
8	Greece	1		1 (2004^*)			2004	2004
9	ROC	1				1 (2020)	2020	2020
Rk	Women's team	Total	Champions	Runners-up	Third place	Fourth place	First	Last

Medal table

The following table is pre-sorted by number of Olympic gold medals (in descending order), number of Olympic silver medals (in descending order), number of Olympic bronze medals (in descending order), name of the team (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 7 August 2021.

The United States is the most successful country in the women's Olympic water polo tournament, with three gold, two silver and one bronze.^[1]


Rank	Women's team	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States (USA)	3	2	1	6
2	Spain (ESP)	1	2	0	3
3	Australia (AUS)	1	1	2	4
4	Italy (ITA)	1	1	0	2
5	Netherlands (NED)	1	0	1	2
6	Greece (GRE)	0	1	0	1
7	Russia (RUS)	0	0	2	2
8	Hungary (HUN)	0	0	1	1
Totals (8 entries)		7	7	7	21

Longest active appearance droughts

The following table is pre-sorted by number of Olympic tournaments missed (in descending order), year of the last appearance (in ascending order), name of the team (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 7 August 2021.

Notes:

Does not include teams that have not yet made their first appearance at the Olympics or teams that no longer exist.

Legend

Year^* – As host team

**Longest active appearance droughts**
Rk	Women's team^[1]	Last appearance	Olympics missed	Best finish	Confederation
1	Kazakhstan	2004	4	Sixth place	Asia – AASF
2	Greece	2008	3	Runners-up	Europe – LEN
3	Great Britain	2012^*	2	Eighth place	Europe – LEN
4	Brazil	2016^*	1	Eighth place	Americas – UANA
4	Italy	2016	1	Champions	Europe – LEN
6	Australia	2020	0	Champions	Oceania – OSA
	Canada	2020	0	Fifth place	Americas – UANA
	China	2020	0	Fifth place	Asia – AASF
	Hungary	2020	0	Fourth place	Europe – LEN
	Japan	2020^*	0	Ninth place	Asia – AASF
	Netherlands	2020	0	Champions	Europe – LEN
	Russia	2020	0	Third place	Europe – LEN
	South Africa	2020	0	Tenth place	Africa – CANA
	Spain	2020	0	Runners-up	Europe – LEN
	United States	2020	0	Champions	Americas – UANA
Rk	Women's team	Last appearance	Olympics missed	Best finish	Confederation

Longest appearance droughts overall

The following table is pre-sorted by number of Olympic tournaments missed (in descending order), year of the previous appearance (in ascending order), name of the team (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 7 August 2021.

Notes:

Only includes droughts begun after a team's first appearance and until the team ceased to exist.
With the exception of 1916, 1940 and 1944, does not include droughts when the Olympic tournament was not held due to World War I and II.

Legend

Year^* – As host team
Team^† – Defunct team

**Longest appearance droughts overall**
Rk	Women's team^[1]	Prev. appearance	Next appearance	Olympics missed	Best finish	Confederation
1	Kazakhstan	2004	active	4	Sixth place	Asia – AASF
2	Canada	2004	2020	3	Fifth place	Americas – UANA
2	Greece	2008	active	3	Runners-up	Europe – LEN
4	Netherlands	2008	2020	2	Champions	Europe – LEN
4	Great Britain	2012^*	active	2	Eighth place	Europe – LEN
6	Brazil	2016^*	active	1	Eighth place	Americas – UANA
6	Italy	2016	active	1	Champions	Europe – LEN
8	Australia	2020	active	0	Champions	Oceania – OSA
	China	2020	active	0	Fifth place	Asia – AASF
	Hungary	2020	active	0	Fourth place	Europe – LEN
	Japan	2020^*	active	0	Ninth place	Asia – AASF
	Russia	2020	active	0	Third place	Europe – LEN
	South Africa	2020	active	0	Tenth place	Africa – CANA
	Spain	2020	active	0	Runners-up	Europe – LEN
	United States	2020	active	0	Champions	Americas – UANA
Rk	Women's team	Prev. appearance	Next appearance	Olympics missed	Best finish	Confederation

Team records

Teams having equal quantities in the tables below are ordered by the tournament the quantity was attained in (the teams that attained the quantity first are listed first). If the quantity was attained by more than one team in the same tournament, these teams are ordered alphabetically. Last updated: 7 August 2021.

Legend

Year^* – As host team

Appearances

Most appearances: 6, Australia, United States (have participated in every tournament).
Most appearances, never winning a title: 5, Russia (has participated in every tournament).
Most appearances, never finishing in the top two: 5, Russia (has participated in every tournament).
Most appearances, never winning a medal: 4, China (2008^*, 2012, 2016, 2020).
Most appearances, never finishing in the top four: 4, China (2008^*, 2012, 2016, 2020).
Fewest appearances: 1, Great Britain (2012^*), Brazil (2016^*), Japan (2020^*), ROC (2020), South Africa (2020).
Fewest appearances, winning a title: 3, Netherlands (2008).
Fewest appearances, finishing in the top two: 2, Greece (2004^*).
Fewest appearances, winning a medal: 2, Greece (2004^*).
Fewest appearances, finishing in the top four: 2, Greece (2004^*).

Top four

Most titles won: 3, United States (2012, 2016, 2020).
Most second-place finishes: 2, United States (2000, 2008), Spain (2012, 2020).
Most third-place finishes: 2, Australia (2008, 2012), Russia (2000, 2016).
Most fourth-place finishes: 3, Hungary (2008, 2012, 2016).
Most finishes in the top two: 5, United States (2000, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020).
Most finishes in the top two, never winning a title: 2, Spain (2012, 2020).
Most finishes in the top three: 6, United States (has been medaled in every tournament).
Most finishes in the top three, never winning a title: 2, Russia (2000, 2016), Spain (2012, 2020).
Most finishes in the top three, never finishing in the top two: 2, Russia (2000, 2016).
Most finishes in the top four: 6, United States (has finished in the top four in every tournament).
Most finishes in the top four, never winning a title: 4, Hungary (2008, 2012, 2016, 2020).
Most finishes in the top four, never finishing in the top two: 4, Hungary (2008, 2012, 2016, 2020).
Most finishes in the top four, never winning a medal: 1, ROC (2020).
Fewest finishes in the top two, winning a title: 1, Australia (2000^*), Netherlands (2008).
Fewest finishes in the top three, winning a title: 1, Netherlands (2008).
Fewest finishes in the top three, finishing in the top two: 1, Greece (2004^*), Netherlands (2008).
Fewest finishes in the top four, winning a title: 2, Netherlands (2000, 2008), Italy (2004, 2016).
Fewest finishes in the top four, finishing in the top two: 1, Greece (2004^*).
Fewest finishes in the top four, winning a medal: 1, Greece (2004^*).

Consecutive

Most consecutive titles won: 3, United States (2012–2016–2020).
Most consecutive second-place finishes: None.
Most consecutive third-place finishes: 2, Australia (2008–2012).
Most consecutive fourth-place finishes: 3, Hungary (2008–2012–2016).
Most consecutive finishes in the top two: 4, United States (2008–2012–2016–2020).
Most consecutive finishes in the top three: 6, United States (has been medaled in every tournament).
Most consecutive finishes in the top four: 6, United States (has finished in the top four in every tournament).
Most consecutive appearances: 6, Australia, United States (have participated in every tournament).
Biggest improvement in position in consecutive tournaments: Did not participate/qualify, then won the title, Italy (2000–2004), Netherlands (2004–2008).

Gaps

Longest gap between successive titles: None.
Longest gap between successive second-place finishes: 9 years, Spain (2012, 2020).
Longest gap between successive third-place finishes: 16 years, Russia (2000, 2016).
Longest gap between successive fourth-place finishes: None.
Longest gap between successive appearances in the top two: 12 years, Italy (2004–2016).
Longest gap between successive appearances in the top three: 16 years, Russia (2000–2016).
Longest gap between successive appearances in the top four: 16 years, Russia (2000–2016).
Longest gap between successive appearances: 17 years, Canada (2004–2020).

Debuting teams

Best finish by a debuting team: Champions, Australia (2000^*), Italy (2004).
Worst finish by a debuting team: 10th position (last position), South Africa (2020).

Host teams

Best finish by host team: Champions: Australia (2000^*).
Worst finish by host team: 9th position, Japan (2020^*).
Best finish by last host team: 4th position, Australia (2004).
Worst finish by last host team: Did not participate/qualify, Great Britain (2016), Brazil (2020).
Worst finish by last host team that participates in the tournament: 8th position (last position), Greece (2008).
Had its best performance as hosts: Champions, Australia (2000^*).
Runners-up, Greece (2004^*).
5th position, China (2008^*).
8th position, Great Britain (2012^*), Brazil (2016^*).
9th position, Japan (2020^*).
Had its worst performance as hosts: 8th position, Great Britain (2012^*), Brazil (2016^*).
9th position, Japan (2020^*).

Defending champions

Best finish by defending champions: Champions, United States (2016, 2020).
Worst finish by defending champions: Did not participate/qualify, Netherlands (2012).
Worst finish by defending champions that participates in the next tournament: 6th position, Italy (2008).

Defending runners-up

Best finish by defending runners-up: Champions, United States (2012).
Worst finish by defending runners-up: Did not participate/qualify, Italy (2020).
Worst finish by defending runners-up that participates in the next tournament: 8th position (last position), Greece (2008).

Population

Most populous country, participant: China (2020), 1,411,099,000 (source)
Least populous country, participant: Hungary (2020), 9,750,000 (source)
Most populous country, hosts: China (2008^*), 1,324,655,000 (source)
Least populous country, hosts: Greece (2004^*), 10,955,000 (source)
Most populous country, champions: United States (2020), 331,449,000 (source)
Least populous country, champions: Netherlands (2008), 16,446,000 (source)
Most populous country, runners-up: United States (2008), 304,375,000 (source)
Least populous country, runners-up: Greece (2004^*), 10,955,000 (source)
Most populous country, third place: United States (2004), 293,046,000 (source)
Least populous country, third place: Hungary (2020), 9,750,000 (source)
Most populous country, fourth place: Australia (2004), 19,895,000 (source)
Least populous country, fourth place: Hungary (2016), 9,830,485 (source)

Confederation statistics

Number of teams by confederation

This is a summary of the total number of participating teams by confederation in each tournament. Last updated: 7 August 2021.

Legend

– Forthcoming tournament

Confederation	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020	2024
Africa – CANA	—	—	—	—	—	1	—
Americas – UANA	2	2	1	1	2	2	2
Asia – AASF	1	1	1	1	1	2	1
Europe – LEN	2	4	5	5	4	4	6
Oceania – OSA	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Total teams	6	8	8	8	8	10	10

Best performances by tournament

This is a summary of the best performances of each confederation in each tournament.^[1] Last updated: 7 August 2021.

Legend

1st – Champions
2nd – Runners-up
3rd – Third place
4th – Fourth place
Q – Qualified for forthcoming tournament

Confederation	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020	2024
Africa – CANA	—	—	—	—	—	10th	—
Americas – UANA	2nd	3rd	2nd	1st	1st	1st	4th
Asia – AASF	6th	8th	5th	5th	7th	8th	10th
Europe – LEN	3rd	1st	1st	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st
Oceania – OSA	1st	4th	3rd	3rd	6th	5th	2nd
Total teams	6	8	8	8	8	10	10

All-time best performances

This is a summary of the best performances of each confederation at the Olympics.^[1] Last updated: 15 January 2021.

Legend

Year^* – As host team

Confederation	Best performance	Women's team
Africa – CANA	10th	South Africa (2020)
Americas – UANA	1st	United States (2012, 2016, 2020)
Asia – AASF	5th	China (2008^*, 2012)
Europe – LEN	1st	Italy (2004), Netherlands (2008) Spain (2024)
Oceania – OSA	1st	Australia (2000^*)

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "HistoFINA – Water polo medalists and statistics" (PDF). fina.org. FINA. September 2019. p. 56. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
↑ "Water polo women - Olympic Water Polo". olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
↑ "Water Polo — Water Polo, Women". Olympedia. Olympedia. Retrieved 15 January 2021.

Sources

Official Results Books (IOC)

PDF documents in the LA84 Foundation Digital Library:

PDF documents on the FINA website:

Official Results Book – 2012 Olympic Games – Diving, Swimming, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo (archive) (pp. 284–507)

PDF documents in the Olympic World Library:

Official Results Book – 2016 Olympic Games – Water Polo (archive)

PDF documents on the International Olympic Committee website:

Official Reports (FINA)