International Olympic Committee : News

USA make a splash for gold - London 2012 - Water Polo

8/9/2012 12:00:00 AM

Maggie Steffens scored five goals for the USA as they cruised past the Europeans in the tournament final.

The win gives the USA their first Olympic Water Polo gold, after silver at Beijing 2008, bronze at Athens 2004 and silver in the first women's Water Polo competition at Sydney 2000.

A flurry of seven unanswered goals across the second, third and fourth periods propelled the USA from 2-1 down into a commanding position, 8-2 up, in the final quarter.

Superb shooting and resilient defensive work by the USA kept their scoreboard ticking over, while denying their opponents vital chances.

A stunning performance from the tournament's 'All-Star' goalkeeper, Betsey Armstrong, kept the Spaniards from scoring the goals that, until tonight, had given them an unbeaten record.

Spain did rally to outscore their opponents in the final quarter, but they left it too late to seriously bother the eventual winners.

After the game, Steffens deflected the praise for her performance and insisted the credit should be shared among the USA team.

'Definitely it was from my team-mates. When you're getting up there it's about the pass, it's about the steal and our defensive blocks were really creating the offensive end for us,' said Steffens.

'And you could tell towards the second half the attacking side slowed down, but the defence really started to pick up, so I think that was really important.'

Asked when the gold medallists felt they had won the game, she added: 'We didn't feel like we had it in the bag until the final buzzer rings. We've learned that.'

Earlier, Australia took bronze with a dramatic extra-time win over Hungary.

In a repeat of the Beijing 2008 third-place play-off, the Australians looked to have won their second successive bronze in normal time.

A last-second Hungarian leveller forced the tight game into added time, but Australia scored two unanswered goals to clinch the match 13-11.

Champions make waves - London 2012 - Water Polo

8/6/2012 12:00:00 AM

The reigning Olympic gold medallists shrugged off the USA in a superb performance, winning 11-6.

After a shaky start to the London 2012 Games - with two defeats and two wins - the nine-time gold medallists looked back to their best with a ruthless win over the Beijing 2008 runners-up.

The victory puts the Hungarians ahead of the USA in Group B.

Their defensive display stopped their opponents finding the back of the net, while at the other end their accuracy and efficiency in front of goal was merciless.

Norbert Hosnyanszky blasted a hat-trick for the Hungarians, while captain Peter Biros netted two.

Adam Steinmetz, Norbert Madaras, Tamas Varga, Marton Szivos, Gergely Kiss and Tamas Kasas scored one apiece.

Elsewhere, Serbia cruised past Romania to win their group.

They hardly needed to get out of second gear as they brushed aside their opponents 12-4 to remain unbeaten in the competition.

The Beijing 2008 bronze medallists and European champions came into the Olympics as favourites, and their form will worry the other teams in the quarter-finals.

Serbia will play Australia in a quarter-final clash on Wednesday, and the Australians had the ideal preparation, as they beat Greece to book their last-eight spot.

Australia went behind in the opening minutes of the contest, but strong second and third periods gave them a well-earned win and a place in the knockouts.

In the first game of the day, centre forward Niksa Dobud scored six of the best for Croatia as they powered past Kazakhstan 12-4 to maintain their 100 per cent record.

The in-form side had already guaranteed top spot in Group A and a place in the quarter-finals, but their record of five wins from five matches sends a strong message to their rivals.

Later in the Water Polo Arena, Italy beat Spain 10-7 to clinch second place in Group A while Montenegro eased past Host Nation Great Britain, 13-4.

Aleksandar Radovic and Boris Zlokovic scored hat-tricks for Montenegro, while Mladan Janovic and Aleksandar Ivovic netted a brace each.

Italy and Croatia impress - London 2012 - Water Polo

8/4/2012 12:00:00 AM

The reigning world champions currently lie third in Group A with one match to play, but they now know they will qualify in either second or third.

Pietro Figlioli, Valentino Gallo, Christian Presciutti and Danijel Premus each scored a brace for the Italians in their win.

Croatia were too strong for Australia, easing to an 11-6 win - Maro Jokovic scoring a hat-trick for the winners.

Montenegro overcame Romania 12-8 in a hard-fought battle, Aleksandar Ivovic weighing in with a superb hat-trick.

Spain edged past Greece 11-9 to hold on to second place in their preliminary group with one match to play.

The 1996 Atlanta champions are guaranteed to qualify for the quarter-finals, but a higher group ranking could set up a more comfortable game for them.

Blai Mallarach, Felipe Perrone and Albert Espanol were all on target with a brace for Spain.

Serbia beat the USA 11-6 - although both teams are guaranteed a place in the quarter finals - while Hungary ran out 17-6 winners against Great Britain.

Russia on a march, USA and Spain share spoils - London 2012 - Water Polo

8/1/2012 12:00:00 AM

Russia overcame Italy to announce their intentions for a medal.

After a cagey first half, the World Championships bronze medallists pulled ahead in the third quarter and a late Italian fightback was not enough to bother them.

They now have a 100 per cent record in Group B, after beating Great Britain narrowly in their last game.

Russia scored first to lead at the end of the first quarter 1-0. They doubled their tally in the second period, but Italy pegged one back before half time.

The Russians stepped up a gear to win the penultimate quarter 4-1 to put daylight between them and their opponents.

An Italian late charge saw them win the fourth quarter 2-1, but the match finished 7-4 to Russia.

In Group A, Spain and USA held each other to a 9-9 draw.

Both sides were looking to build on winning starts, but they shared the spoils after a tense encounter at the Water Polo Arena.

Spain dominated the first half, while their opponents fought back in the second. The Spanish powered to a 3-1 lead after the first quarter, and held the two-goal cushion going into the half-time break at 5-3.

The USA flew out of the blocks in the third quarter to claw back the deficit, before a Spain goal restored their lead to 6-5.

They had a fantastic chance to pull away, but captain Jennifer Pareja fired a penalty into the arms of the USA goalkeeper, and the USA capitalised by scoring again at the other end to level the scores at 6-6.

Another USA goal gave them the lead for the first time with a minute on the clock in the third period, and the quarter finished 7-6 to the USA.

Spain edged the fourth quarter by one goal, bringing the score to 9-9 at the final whistle.

Hungary snatched victory from China in a thrilling clash, edging ahead for the first time with less than two minutes to go before clinging on to win 11-10.

China were ahead for most of the Group A encounter, but Hungary were never too far behind, and pounced on their opponents in the closing minutes.

In the final game of the day, Australia recorded a big win, 16-3 against Great Britain.

The Australians led from start to finish, dominating in every area of the game to see out a comfortable victory.

Australia too strong for Italy - London 2012 - Water Polo

7/31/2012 12:00:00 AM

They led for almost all of the Group A match, but the Italians kept bouncing back in a thrilling cat-and-mouse encounter. However, Australia held their nerve to close out victory.

Australia captain Kate Gynther scored a hat-trick, while Nicola Zagame slotted home twice. Single goals from Holly Lincoln-Smith, Bronwen Knox, Rowie Webster, Glencora Ralph and Ash Southern completed the tally.

Italy duo Federica Radicchi and Tania di Mario each scored a brace, with Simona Abbate, captain Elisa Casanova, Aniko Pelle and Roberta Bianconi contributing a goal each to their haul.

Meanwhile, USA edged past Hungary 14-13 in a thrilling match.

Maggie Steffens scored seven for the winning side, while Courtney Mathewson found the back of the net four times.

Captain Brenda Villa, Kelly Rulon and Kami Craig each scored one goal.

Barbara Bujka scored four for Hungary, Dora Antal netted three, and Gabriella Szucs scored two.

Orsolya Takacs, captain Rita Dravucz, Ildiko Toth and Dora Csabai scored one goal.

In other games, Spain overcame China 11-6 and Russia edged out Host Nation Great Britain 7-6.