The water polo competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia saw Hungary’s return to the gold medal platform and the introduction of the women’s tournament.[1] The Australian women had lobbied the IOC hard for the inclusion of women’s water polo in the Olympics, including showing up at the airport dressed only in their swimsuits during one pre-Olympic visit by members of the IOC.
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country |  Australia |
| City | Sydney |
| Venue(s) | Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre, Sydney International Aquatic Centre |
| Dates | 16 September – 1 October 2000 |
| Events | 2 (men's, women's) |
| Teams | 12 (men's), 6 (women's) (from 4 confederations) |
| Competitors | 153 men, 78 women |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Hungary (men) Australia (women) |
| Runners-up |  Russia (men) United States (women) |
| Third place |  Yugoslavia (men) Russia (women) |
| Fourth place |  Spain (men) Netherlands (women) |
| Tournament statistics (men, women) | |
| Matches | 68 |
| Multiple appearances | 6-time Olympian(s): 1 5-time Olympian(s): 2 4-time Olympian(s): 4 |
Six nations competed in the women’s tournament with home team Australia winning the gold medal over the United States. Twelve nations competed in the men’s tournament and played a total of 48 matches. Spain was unable to follow up their 1996 gold medal performance with a medal. Hungary defeated Russia for the gold medal. The matches were held at Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre and the Sydney Olympic Aquatic Centre.[2]
Men
edit| Events | Dates | Hosts | Quotas | Qualified Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host Country | 24 September 1993 |  Monte Carlo
|
1 | Australia
|
| 1999 World Cup | 28 September - 3 October 1999 | Sydney
|
3 | Hungary
|
 Italy
| ||||
| Spain
| ||||
| 1999 Pan American Games | 23-30 July 1999 |  Winnipeg
|
1 | United States
|
| 1999 European Championship | 2-11 September 1999 | Firenze
|
1 |  Croatia
|
| 2000 Asian Championship | 28 March - 2 April 2000 |  Busan
|
1 |  Kazakhstan
|
| Men's Olympic Water Polo Qualifying Tournament | 6-14 May 2000 |  Hannover
|
5 | Yugoslavia
|
| Russia
| ||||
 Greece
| ||||
 Slovakia
| ||||
| Netherlands
| ||||
| Total | 12 | |||
Women
edit| Events | Dates | Hosts | Quotas | Qualified Teams | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host Country | 24 September 1993 | Monte Carlo
|
1 | Australia
| |
| 1999 World Cup | Europe | 24-29 May 1999 | Winnipeg
|
1 | Netherlands
|
| Americas | 1 | Canada
| |||
| Women's Olympic Water Polo Qualifying Tournament | World | 22-30 April 2000 | Palermo
|
2 | Russia
|
| United States
| |||||
| Asia/Africa/Oceania | 1 | Kazakhstan
| |||
| Total | 6 | ||||
Medal summary
editMedal table
edit* Host nation (Australia)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Australia* | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Hungary | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 3 |  Russia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 |  United States | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 |  FR Yugoslavia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (5 entries) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
Medalists
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "HistoFINA – Water polo medalists and statistics" (PDF). fina.org. FINA. September 2019. pp. 4, 56. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ "Water Polo at the 2000 Sydney Summer Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ "Women 2000". Todor66.
Sources
edit- PDF documents in the LA84 Foundation Digital Library:
- Water polo on the Olympedia website
- Water polo on the Sports Reference website