Water polo at the World Aquatics Championships
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Water polo at the World Aquatics Championships is an international water polo tournament held every two years as part of the World Aquatics Championships.[1] The reigning champions are Spain in men's and Greece in women's competition.
| Sport | Water polo |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1973 (men) 1986 (women) |
| No. of teams | 16 (finals) |
| Continent | International (FINA) |
Most recent champions |  Spain (men, 4th title) Greece (women, 2nd title) |
| Most titles |  Hungary Italy Spain(men; 4 titles each)  United States (women; 8 titles) |
Events
Men's tournament
Results summary
Confederation statistics
Best performances by tournament
This is a summary of the best performances of each confederation in each tournament.[1]
- Legend
- 1st – Champions
- 2nd – Runners-up
- 3rd – Third place
- 4th – Fourth place
- Q – Qualified for forthcoming tournament
| Confederation | 1973 | 1975 | 1978 | 1982 | 1986 | 1991 | 1994 | 1998 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa – CANA | — | — | — | 15th | — | 15th | 15th | 14th | — | — | 15th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 15th | 12th | 16th | 12th | 12th | 16th | 15th | 16th |
| Americas – ASUA | 5th | 4th | 5th | 5th | 4th | 4th | 6th | 7th | 7th | 6th | 11th | 9th | 4th | 6th | 9th | 7th | 12th | 9th | 6th | 7th | 9th | 8th |
| Asia – AASF | — | 15th | — | 10th | — | 14th | 12th | 11th | 12th | 15th | 14th | 13th | 12th | 11th | 12th | 11th | 10th | 11th | 9th | 11th | 12th | 9th |
| Europe – LEN | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st |
| Oceania – OSA | 14th | 11th | 9th | 11th | 10th | 8th | 10th | 4th | 10th | 7th | 10th | 10th | 10th | 9th | 8th | 8th | 7th | 6th | 11th | 10th | 11th | 13th |
| Nations | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
Team statistics
Participating teams
Note: Results of qualification tournaments are not included.
- Legend
- 1st – Champions
- 2nd – Runners-up
- 3rd – Third place
- 4th – Fourth place
- Q – Qualified for forthcoming tournament
- – Hosts
- † – Defunct team
| Africa – CANA (2 teams) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Men's team[1] | 1973 | 1975 | 1978 | 1982 | 1986 | 1991 | 1994 | 1998 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Egypt |
15th | 15th | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
 South Africa |
15th | 14th | 15th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 15th | 12th | 16th | 12th | 12th | 16th | 15th | 16th | 14 | ||||||||
| Americas – ASUA (7 teams) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Men's team[1] | 1973 | 1975 | 1978 | 1982 | 1986 | 1991 | 1994 | 1998 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Years |
 Argentina |
16th | 13th | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
 Brazil |
12th | 12th | 13th | 13th | 13th | 14th | 10th | 12th | 13th | 15th | WD | 14th | 12th | 12 | |||||||||
 Canada |
14th | 14th | 14th | 13th | 13th | 14th | 13th | 15th | 14th | 13th | 12th | 8th | 10th | 11th | 9th | 15th | 16th | 12th | 11th | 19 | |||
 Colombia |
16th | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Cuba |
6th | 4th | 10th | 5th | 7th | 11th | 11th | 12th | 8 | ||||||||||||||
 Mexico |
9th | 9th | 15th | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| United States |
5th | 8th | 5th | 6th | 4th | 4th | 6th | 7th | 7th | 6th | 11th | 9th | 4th | 6th | 9th | 7th | 13th | 9th | 6th | 7th | 9th | 8th | 22 |
| Asia – AASF (6 teams) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Men's team[1] | 1973 | 1975 | 1978 | 1982 | 1986 | 1991 | 1994 | 1998 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Years |
 China |
10th | 14th | 16th | 16th | 13th | 12th | 15th | 14th | 15th | 15th | 12th | 14th | 12 | ||||||||||
 Iran |
15th | 15th | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
 Japan |
16th | 15th | 14th | 16th | 11th | 13th | 10th | 11th | 9th | 11th | 13th | 9th | 12 | ||||||||||
 Kazakhstan |
Part of Soviet Union | 12th | 11th | 12th | 16th | 13th | 12th | 11th | 11th | 14th | 14th | 14th | 16th | 12 | |||||||||
 South Korea |
15th | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Singapore |
15th | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Europe – LEN (22 teams) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Men's team[1] | 1973 | 1975 | 1978 | 1982 | 1986 | 1991 | 1994 | 1998 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Years |
 Bulgaria |
13th | 12th | 8th | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
 Croatia |
Part of Yugoslavia | 4th | 9th | 8th | 9th | 4th | 1st | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | 4th | 9th | 1st | 5th | 16 | |||||
 France |
13th | 8th | 12th | 14th | 6th | 4th | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
 Georgia |
Part of Soviet Union | 10th | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
 Germany |
See West Germany | 5th | 9th | 14th | 11th | 9th | 8th | 6th | 8th | 10th | 8th | 13th | 11 | ||||||||||
 Great Britain |
15th | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Greece |
12th | 12th | 12th | 11th | 10th | 7th | 8th | 6th | 4th | 3rd | 6th | 6th | 3rd | 4th | 7th | 3rd | 2nd | 5th | 3rd | 19 | |||
| Hungary |
1st | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 9th | 3rd | 5th | 2nd | 5th | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 5th | 4th | 1st | 6th | 2nd | 4th | 7th | 1st | 7th | 2nd | 22 |
 Israel |
16th | 16th | 15th | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Italy |
4th | 3rd | 1st | 9th | 2nd | 6th | 1st | 5th | 4th | 2nd | 8th | 5th | 11th | 1st | 4th | 4th | 6th | 1st | 2nd | 5th | 2nd | 7th | 22 |
 Montenegro |
Part of Yugoslavia | Part of FRY / SCG | 9th | 7th | 2nd | 5th | 5th | 10th | 8th | 8th | 8th | 6th | 10 | ||||||||||
| Men's team | 1973 | 1975 | 1978 | 1982 | 1986 | 1991 | 1994 | 1998 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Years |
 Netherlands |
8th | 7th | 13th | 4th | 14th | 8th | 9th | 7 | |||||||||||||||
 North Macedonia |
Part of Yugoslavia | 14th | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
 Romania |
7th | 5th | 6th | 9th | 13th | 12th | 6th | 11th | 7th | 12th | 13th | 10th | 10th | 13 | |||||||||
 Russia |
Part of Soviet Union | 3rd | 6th | 3rd | 10th | 7th | 7th | 14th | 8th | DQ | DQ | DQ | DQ | 8 | |||||||||
 Serbia |
Part of Yugoslavia | Part of FRY / SCG | 4th | 1st | 2nd | 7th | 1st | 3rd | 5th | 5th | 4th | 6th | 4th | 11 | |||||||||
 Serbia and Montenegro†[a] |
Part of Yugoslavia | 3rd | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | Defunct | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
 Slovakia |
Part of Czechoslovakia | 10th | 11th | 8th | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Soviet Union† |
2nd | 1st | 4th | 1st | 3rd | 7th | Defunct | 6 | |||||||||||||||
| Spain |
10th | 10th | 11th | 8th | 5th | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 5th | 5th | 3rd | 2nd | 5th | 5th | 9th | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | 3rd | 1st | 21 | |
| West Germany† |
11th | 6th | 7th | 3rd | 6th | See Germany | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
 Yugoslavia† |
3rd | 13th | 3rd | 7th | 1st | 1st | Defunct | 6 | |||||||||||||||
| Oceania – OSA (2 teams) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Men's team[1] | 1973 | 1975 | 1978 | 1982 | 1986 | 1991 | 1994 | 1998 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Years |
 Australia |
14th | 11th | 9th | 11th | 10th | 8th | 10th | 4th | 10th | 7th | 10th | 10th | 10th | 9th | 8th | 8th | 7th | 6th | 11th | 10th | 11th | 13th | 22 |
 New Zealand |
16th | 16th | 16th | 16th | 15th | 16th | 16th | 7 | |||||||||||||||
| Total teams | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | |
Finishes in the top four
The following table is pre-sorted by total finishes in the top four (in descending order), number of gold medals (in descending order), number of silver medals (in descending order), number of bronze medals (in descending order), name of the team (in ascending order), respectively.
- Legend
- * – Host team
- † – Defunct team
| Rk | Men's team[1] | Total | Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hungary | 15 | 4 (1973, 2003, 2013, 2023) | 8 (1975, 1978, 1982, 1998, 2005, 2007, 2017*, 2025) | 1 (1991) | 2 (2011, 2019) | 1973 | 2025 |
| 2 | Italy | 13 | 4 (1978, 1994*, 2011, 2019) | 4 (1986, 2003, 2022, 2024) | 1 (1975) | 4 (1973, 2001, 2013, 2015) | 1973 | 2024 |
| 3 | Spain | 11 | 4 (1998, 2001, 2022, 2025) | 4 (1991, 1994, 2009, 2019) | 3 (2007, 2023, 2024) | 1991 | 2025 | |
| 4 | Croatia | 11 | 3 (2007, 2017, 2024) | 1 (2015) | 4 (2009, 2011, 2013, 2019) | 3 (1994, 2005, 2022) | 1994 | 2024 |
| 5 | Serbia | 7 | 2 (2009, 2015) | 1 (2011) | 1 (2017) | 3 (2007, 2023, 2025) | 2007 | 2025 |
| 6 | Greece | 7 | 1 (2023) | 4 (2005, 2015, 2022, 2025) | 2 (2003, 2017) | 2003 | 2025 | |
| 7 | Soviet Union† | 5 | 2 (1975, 1982) | 1 (1973) | 1 (1986) | 1 (1978) | 1973 | 1986 |
| 8 | Yugoslavia† | 4 | 2 (1986, 1991) | 2 (1973*, 1978) | 1973 | 1991 | ||
| 9 | Yugoslavia†[a] / Serbia and Montenegro† | 4 | 1 (2005) | 1 (2001) | 2 (1998, 2003) | 1998 | 2005 | |
| 10 | United States | 3 | 3 (1986, 1991, 2009) | 1986 | 2009 | |||
| 11 | Russia | 2 | 2 (1994, 2001) | 1994 | 2001 | |||
| 12 | Montenegro | 1 | 1 (2013) | 2013 | 2013 | |||
| 13 | West Germany† | 1 | 1 (1982) | 1982 | 1982 | |||
| 14 | Australia | 1 | 1 (1998*) | 1998 | 1998 | |||
| Cuba | 1 (1975) | 1975 | 1975 | |||||
| France | 1 (2024) | 2024 | 2024 | |||||
| Netherlands | 1 (1982) | 1982 | 1982 | |||||
| Rk | Men's team | Total | Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place | First | Last |
Medal table
The following table is pre-sorted by number of gold medals (in descending order), number of silver medals (in descending order), number of bronze medals (in descending order), name of the team (in ascending order), respectively.
- Legend
- † – Defunct team
| Rank | Men's team | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hungary | 4 | 8 | 1 | 13 |
| 2 | Spain | 4 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| 3 | Italy | 4 | 4 | 1 | 9 |
| 4 | Croatia | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| 5 | Serbia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Soviet Union† | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 7 | Yugoslavia† | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 8 | Yugoslavia†[a] / Serbia and Montenegro† | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 9 | Greece | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 10 | Montenegro | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Russia | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 12 | West Germany† | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (12 entries) | 22 | 22 | 22 | 66 | |
Champions (results and squads)
The following table shows results of world champions in men's water polo by tournament.
- Legend
- 6 – Winning 6 matches during the tournament
- 4 – Drawing 4 matches during the tournament
- 2 – Losing 2 matches during the tournament
- 100.0% – Winning all matches during the tournament
- team – Winning streak (winning three or more world championships in a row)
- – Host team
- † – Defunct team
- Abbreviation
- MP – Matches played
- W – Won
- D – Drawn
- L – Lost
- GF – Goals for
- GA – Goals against
- GD – Goals difference
- GF/MP – Goals for per match
- GA/MP – Goals against per match
- GD/MP – Goals difference per match
| # | Men's tournament | Champion | MP | W | D | L | Win % | GF | GA | GD | GF/MP | GA/MP | GD/MP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belgrade 1973 | Hungary (1st title) | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 87.5% | 58 | 24 | 34 | 7.250 | 3.000 | 4.250 |
| 2 | Cali 1975 | Soviet Union† (1st title) | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 75.0% | 49 | 26 | 23 | 6.125 | 3.250 | 2.875 |
| 3 | West Berlin 1978 | Italy (1st title) | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 62.5% | 41 | 31 | 10 | 5.125 | 3.875 | 1.250 |
| 4 |  Guayaquil 1982 | Soviet Union† (2nd title) | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 85.7% | 68 | 41 | 27 | 9.714 | 5.857 | 3.857 |
| 5 | Madrid 1986 | Yugoslavia† (1st title) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 83.3% | 61 | 43 | 18 | 10.167 | 7.167 | 3.000 |
| 6 | Perth 1991 | Yugoslavia† (2nd title) | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 85.7% | 81 | 46 | 35 | 11.571 | 6.571 | 5.000 |
| 7 | Rome 1994 | Italy (2nd title) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 65 | 39 | 26 | 9.286 | 5.571 | 3.714 |
| 8 | Perth 1998 | Spain (1st title) | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 65 | 35 | 30 | 8.125 | 4.375 | 3.750 |
| 9 | Fukuoka 2001 | Spain (2nd title) | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 63 | 27 | 36 | 7.875 | 3.375 | 4.500 |
| 10 | Barcelona 2003 | Hungary (2nd title) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 83.3% | 62 | 37 | 25 | 10.333 | 6.167 | 4.167 |
| 11 | Montreal 2005 | Serbia and Montenegro† (1st title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 69 | 29 | 40 | 11.500 | 4.833 | 6.667 |
| 12 | Melbourne 2007 | Croatia (1st title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 65 | 40 | 25 | 10.833 | 6.667 | 4.167 |
| 13 | Rome 2009 | Serbia (1st title) | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 71.4% | 80 | 60 | 20 | 11.429 | 8.571 | 2.857 |
| 14 | Shanghai 2011 | Italy (3rd title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 59 | 33 | 26 | 9.833 | 5.500 | 4.333 |
| 15 | Barcelona 2013 | Hungary (3rd title) | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 71.4% | 76 | 54 | 22 | 10.857 | 7.714 | 3.143 |
| 16 | Kazan 2015 | Serbia (2nd title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 73 | 43 | 30 | 12.167 | 7.167 | 5.000 |
| 17 | Budapest 2017 | Croatia (2nd title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 70 | 47 | 23 | 11.667 | 7.833 | 3.833 |
| 18 | Gwangju 2019 | Italy (4th title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 60 | 40 | 20 | 10.000 | 6.667 | 3.333 |
| 19 | Budapest 2022 | Spain (3rd title) | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 80.0% | 68 | 34 | 34 | 13.600 | 6.800 | 6.800 |
| 20 | Fukuoka 2023 | Hungary (4th title) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 83.3% | 84 | 64 | 20 | 14.000 | 10.667 | 3.333 |
| 21 |  Doha 2024 | Croatia (3rd title) | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 57.1% | 107 | 63 | 44 | 15.286 | 9.000 | 6.286 |
| 22 | Singapore 2025 | Spain (4th title) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 83.3% | 78 | 57 | 21 | 13.000 | 9.500 | 3.500 |
| # | Men's tournament | Total | 147 | 127 | 16 | 4 | 86.4% | 1502 | 913 | 589 | 10.218 | 6.211 | 4.007 |
| Champion | MP | W | D | L | Win % | GF | GA | GD | GF/MP | GA/MP | GD/MP |
Sources:
- Official Reports (FINA) (PDF): "World Championship" (p. 15);
- Todor66: "Men's Water Polo World Championship".
The following table shows men's teams that won all matches during the tournament.
| # | Year | Champion | MP | W | D | L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1994 | Italy (2nd title) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| 2 | 1998 | Spain (1st title) | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| 3 | 2001 | Spain (2nd title) | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| 4 | 2005 | Serbia and Montenegro† (1st title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| 5 | 2007 | Croatia (1st title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| 6 | 2011 | Italy (3rd title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| 7 | 2015 | Serbia (2nd title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| 8 | 2017 | Croatia (2nd title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| 9 | 2019 | Italy (4th title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| # | Year | Champion | MP | W | D | L | Win % |
The following tables show records of goals for per match.
|
|
| Goals for per match | Achievement | Year | Champion | Date of winning gold | Duration of record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.250 | Set record | 1973 | Hungary (1st title) | 9 September 1973 | 8 years, 332 days |
| 9.714 | Broke record | 1982 | Soviet Union† (2nd title) | 7 August 1982 | 4 years, 15 days |
| 10.167 | Broke record | 1986 | Yugoslavia† (1st title) | 22 August 1986 | 4 years, 144 days |
| 11.571 | Broke record | 1991 | Yugoslavia† (2nd title) | 13 January 1991 | 24 years, 207 days |
| 12.167 | Broke record | 2015 | Serbia (2nd title) | 8 August 2015 | 6 years, 329 days |
| 13.600 | Broke record | 2022 | Spain (3rd title) | 3 July 2022 | 1 year, 26 days |
| 14.000 | Broke record | 2023 | Hungary (4th title) | 29 July 2023 | 203 days |
| 15.286 | Broke record | 2024 | Croatia (3rd title) | 17 February 2024 | 2 years, 190 days |
The following tables show records of goals against per match.
|
|
The following tables show records of goals difference per match.
|
|
Player statistics
| (C) | Captain | Apps | Appearances | Ref | Reference | Rk | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L/R | Handedness | Pos | Playing position | FP | Field player | GK | Goalkeeper |
Multiple gold medalists
The following table is pre-sorted by number of gold medals (in descending order), number of silver medals (in descending order), number of bronze medals (in descending order), date of receiving the last gold medal (in ascending order), date of receiving the first gold medal (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively.
Serbian player Slobodan Nikić is the first and only male athlete to win three gold medals in water polo at the World Aquatics Championships.[2]
There are forty six male athletes who won two gold medals in water polo at the World Aquatics Championships.
- Legend
- – Hosts
| Rk | Player | Birth | Height | Men's team | Pos | Water polo tournament | Period (age of first/last) | Medals | Ref | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | S | B | T | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Slobodan Nikić | 1983 | 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) | Serbia and Montenegro | FP | 2003 | 2005 | 12 years (20/32) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | [2] | |||||
| Serbia | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | |||||||||||||
Multiple medalists
The following table is pre-sorted by total number of medals (in descending order), number of gold medals (in descending order), number of silver medals (in descending order), date of receiving the last medal (in ascending order), date of receiving the first medal (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively.
Seventeen male athletes won five or more medals in water polo at the World Aquatics Championships. Aside from Serbian player Slobodan Nikić[2], all others were members of the Spain men's national water polo team (10 players) and Croatia men's national water polo team (6 players). Brazilian-born Spanish player Felipe Perrone[3] and Croatian Andro Bušlje[4] are the only athletes (man or woman) to win seven medals in water polo at the World Aquatics Championships.
- Legend
- – Hosts
| Rk | Player | Birth | Height | Men's team | Pos | Water polo tournament | Period (age of first/last) | Medals | Ref | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | S | B | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Felipe Perrone | 1986 | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | Spain | FP | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 24 years (15/39) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | [3] | ||||
| Brazil | 2001 | 2003 | 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Andro Bušlje | 1986 | 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) | Croatia | FP | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 14 years (19/33) | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | [4] | ||||||
| 3 | Maro Joković | 1987 | 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) | Croatia | FP | 2007 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 12 years (19/31) | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | [5] | ||||||||
| 4 | Slobodan Nikić | 1983 | 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) | Serbia and Montenegro | FP | 2003 | 2005 | 12 years (20/32) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | [2] | ||||||||||||
| Serbia | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Marko Bijač | 1991 | 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) | Croatia | GK | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 12 years (22/34) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | [6] | ||||||
| Alejandro Bustos | 1997 | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | Spain | FP | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 8 years (20/28) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | [7] | |||||||||
| Sergi Cabañas | 1996 | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | Spain | FP | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 6 years (23/29) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | [8] | ||||||||||
| Miguel de Toro | 1993 | 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) | Spain | FP | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 8 years (23/31) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | [9] | |||||||||
| Álvaro Granados | 1998 | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | Spain | FP | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 8 years (18/26) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | [10] | |||||||||
| Marc Larumbe | 1994 | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | Spain | FP | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 6 years (25/31) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | [11] | ||||||||||
| Luka Lončar | 1987 | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | Croatia | FP | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 | 12 years (26/38) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | [12] | |||||||||
| Eduardo Lorrio | 1993 | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | Spain | GK | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 6 years (25/31) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | [13] | ||||||||||
| Alberto Munárriz | 1994 | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | Spain | FP | 2013 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 12 years (19/31) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | [14] | ||||||||
| Roger Tahull | 1997 | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | Spain | FP | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 8 years (20/28) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | [15] | |||||||||
| 15 | Blai Mallarach | 1987 | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | Spain | FP | 2009 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 15 years (21/36) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | [16] | |||||||||
| 16 | Josip Pavić | 1982 | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | Croatia | GK | 2001 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 14 years (19/33) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | [17] | |||||||
| Sandro Sukno | 1990 | 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) | Croatia | FP | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 8 years (19/27) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | [18] | ||||||||||
| Rk | Player | Birth | Height | Men's team | Pos | Water polo tournament | Period (age of first/last) | G | S | B | T | Ref | |||||||||||||
| Medals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Women's tournament
Results summary
Confederation statistics
Best performances by tournament
This is a summary of the best performances of each confederation in each tournament.[1]
- Legend
- 1st – Champions
- 2nd – Runners-up
- 3rd – Third place
- 4th – Fourth place
- Q – Qualified for forthcoming tournament
| Confederation | 1986 | 1991 | 1994 | 1998 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa – CANA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 16th | 15th | 15th | 16th | 16th | 14th | 13th | 12th | 14th | 15th |
| Americas – ASUA | 3rd | 2nd | 4th | 6th | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 6th | 5th | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 5th | 1st | 4th |
| Asia – AASF | — | — | 12th | 12th | 8th | 11th | 15th | 13th | 11th | 2nd | 9th | 5th | 10th | 10th | 11th | 13th | 10th | 8th |
| Europe – LEN | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | 3rd | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 1st |
| Oceania – OSA | 1st | 5th | 6th | 3rd | 5th | 7th | 6th | 2nd | 6th | 5th | 2nd | 4th | 8th | 3rd | 6th | 4th | 6th | 6th |
| Nations | 9 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
Team statistics
Participating teams
Note: Results of qualification tournaments are not included.
- Legend
- 1st – Champions
- 2nd – Runners-up
- 3rd – Third place
- 4th – Fourth place
- Q – Qualified for forthcoming tournament
- – Hosts
- † – Defunct team
| Africa – CANA (1 team) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Women's team[1] | 1986 | 1991 | 1994 | 1998 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Years | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa |
16th | 15th | 15th | 16th | 16th | 14th | 13th | 12th | 14th | 15th | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Americas – ASUA (8 teams) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Women's team[1] | 1986 | 1991 | 1994 | 1998 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Years | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Argentina |
12th | 16th | 14th | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brazil |
8th | 11th | 10th | 10th | 13th | 13th | 10th | 13th | 14th | 14th | 10th | 14th | 14th | WD | 15th | 14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Canada |
4th | 2nd | 5th | 6th | 3rd | 4th | 3rd | 6th | 2nd | 8th | 8th | 11th | 4th | 9th | 9th | 7th | 8th | 17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colombia |
16th | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cuba |
9th | 15th | 10th | 15th | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Puerto Rico |
16th | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States |
3rd | 3rd | 4th | 8th | 4th | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 6th | 5th | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 5th | 1st | 4th | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Venezuela |
14th | 14th | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Asia – AASF (7 teams) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Women's team[1] | 1986 | 1991 | 1994 | 1998 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Years | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| China |
16th | 14th | 11th | 2nd | 9th | 5th | 10th | 11th | WD | 13th | 10th | 9th | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Japan |
11th | 11th | 15th | 13th | 13th | WD | 14th | WD | 8th | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kazakhstan |
Part of URS | 12th | 12th | 8th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 13th | 11th | 12th | 15th | 10th | 11th | 15th | 12th | 14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Singapore |
16th | 16th | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Korea |
16th | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Thailand |
15th | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Uzbekistan |
Part of URS | 15th | 15th | 16th | 16th | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Europe – LEN (14 teams) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Women's team[1] | 1986 | 1991 | 1994 | 1998 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Years | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Belgium |
7th | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Croatia |
13th | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| France |
9th | 9th | 15th | 14th | 11th | 8th | 9th | 13th | 12th | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Germany |
FRG | 6th | 8th | 10th | 8th | 11th | 10th | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Great Britain |
9th | 16th | 13th | 11th | 11th | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Greece |
5th | 7th | 9th | 5th | 8th | 4th | 1st | 6th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 7th | 8th | 4th | 1st | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hungary |
5th | 4th | 1st | 7th | 2nd | 5th | 1st | 4th | 7th | 9th | 3rd | 9th | 5th | 4th | 2nd | 6th | 2nd | 2nd | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Israel |
10th | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Italy |
3rd | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 7th | 5th | 9th | 4th | 10th | 3rd | 6th | 6th | 4th | 3rd | 7th | 7th | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Netherlands |
2nd | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 9th | 6th | 10th | 9th | 5th | 7th | 7th | 2nd | 9th | 7th | 3rd | 1st | 5th | 5th | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Norway |
8th | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Russia |
Part of URS | 7th | 4th | 6th | 3rd | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 4th | 8th | 3rd | 5th | DQ | DQ | DQ | DQ | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spain |
9th | 8th | 11th | 7th | 8th | 11th | 1st | 7th | 2nd | 2nd | 5th | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Germany† |
6th | See Germany | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oceania – OSA (2 teams) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Women's team[1] | 1986 | 1991 | 1994 | 1998 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Years | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australia |
1st | 5th | 6th | 3rd | 5th | 7th | 6th | 2nd | 6th | 5th | 2nd | 4th | 8th | 3rd | 6th | 4th | 6th | 6th | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Zealand |
7th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 12th | 12th | 12th | 12th | 12th | 13th | 12th | 12th | 10th | 11th | 9th | 10th | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total teams | 9 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finishes in the top four
The following table is pre-sorted by total finishes in the top four (in descending order), number of gold medals (in descending order), number of silver medals (in descending order), number of bronze medals (in descending order), name of the team (in ascending order), respectively.
- Legend
- * – Host team
| Rk | Women's team[1] | Total | Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 14 | 8 (2003, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2024) | 1 (2005) | 2 (1986, 1991) | 3 (1994, 2001, 2025) | 1986 | 2025 |
| 2 | Hungary | 10 | 2 (1994, 2005) | 4 (2001, 2022*, 2024, 2025) | 1 (2013) | 3 (1991, 2007, 2019) | 1991 | 2025 |
| 3 | Italy | 8 | 2 (1998, 2001) | 1 (2003) | 3 (1994*, 2015, 2023) | 2 (2011, 2022) | 1994 | 2023 |
| 4 | Russia | 8 | 5 (2003, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2017) | 3 (1998, 2005, 2013) | 1998 | 2017 | ||
| 5 | Netherlands | 7 | 2 (1991, 2023) | 4 (1986, 1994, 1998, 2015) | 1 (2022) | 1986 | 2023 | |
| 6 | Australia | 7 | 1 (1986) | 2 (2007*, 2013) | 2 (1998*, 2019) | 2 (2015, 2023) | 1986 | 2023 |
| 7 | Canada | 7 | 2 (1991, 2009) | 2 (2001, 2005*) | 3 (1986, 2003, 2017) | 1986 | 2017 | |
| 8 | Spain | 6 | 1 (2013*) | 3 (2017, 2019, 2023) | 2 (2024, 2025) | 2013 | 2025 | |
| 9 | Greece | 4 | 2 (2011, 2025) | 2 (2009, 2024) | 2009 | 2025 | ||
| 10 | China | 1 | 1 (2011*) | 2011 | 2011 | |||
| 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 gold medals (in descending order), number of silver medals (in descending order), number of bronze medals (in descending order), name of the team (in ascending order), respectively.
| Rank | Women's team | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 8 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| 2 | Hungary | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| Netherlands | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | |
| 4 | Italy | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 5 | Greece | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Spain | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 7 | Australia | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 8 | Canada | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 9 | China | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Russia | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Totals (10 entries) | 18 | 18 | 18 | 54 | |
Champions (results and squads)
The following table shows results of world champions in women's water polo by tournament.
- Legend
- 6 – Winning 6 matches during the tournament
- 4 – Drawing 4 matches during the tournament
- 2 – Losing 2 matches during the tournament
- 100.0% – Winning all matches during the tournament
- team – Winning streak (winning three or more world championships in a row)
- – Host team
- † – Defunct team
- Abbreviation
- MP – Matches played
- W – Won
- D – Drawn
- L – Lost
- GF – Goals for
- GA – Goals against
- GD – Goals difference
- GF/MP – Goals for per match
- GA/MP – Goals against per match
- GD/MP – Goals difference per match
| # | Women's tournament | Champion | MP | W | D | L | Win % | GF | GA | GD | GF/MP | GA/MP | GD/MP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madrid 1986 | Australia (1st title) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 83 | 36 | 47 | 11.857 | 5.143 | 6.714 |
| 2 | Perth 1991 | Netherlands (1st title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 71 | 47 | 24 | 11.833 | 7.833 | 4.000 |
| 3 | Rome 1994 | Hungary (1st title) | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 85.7% | 55 | 38 | 17 | 7.857 | 5.429 | 2.429 |
| 4 | Perth 1998 | Italy (1st title) | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 62.5% | 77 | 57 | 20 | 9.625 | 7.125 | 2.500 |
| 5 | Fukuoka 2001 | Italy (2nd title) | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 75.0% | 77 | 45 | 32 | 9.625 | 5.625 | 4.000 |
| 6 | Barcelona 2003 | United States (1st title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 62 | 31 | 31 | 10.333 | 5.167 | 5.167 |
| 7 | Montreal 2005 | Hungary (2nd title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 64 | 35 | 29 | 10.667 | 5.833 | 4.833 |
| 8 | Melbourne 2007 | United States (2nd title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 56 | 38 | 18 | 9.333 | 6.333 | 3.000 |
| 9 | Rome 2009 | United States (3rd title) | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 85.7% | 77 | 53 | 24 | 11.000 | 7.571 | 3.429 |
| 10 | Shanghai 2011 | Greece (1st title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 62 | 51 | 11 | 10.333 | 8.500 | 1.833 |
| 11 | Barcelona 2013 | Spain (1st title) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 83.3% | 88 | 53 | 35 | 14.667 | 8.833 | 5.833 |
| 12 | Kazan 2015 | United States (4th title) | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 85.7% | 72 | 36 | 36 | 10.286 | 5.143 | 5.143 |
| 13 | Budapest 2017 | United States (5th title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 92 | 37 | 55 | 15.333 | 6.167 | 9.167 |
| 14 | Gwangju 2019 | United States (6th title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 93 | 26 | 67 | 15.500 | 4.333 | 11.167 |
| 15 | Budapest 2022 | United States (7th title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 94 | 33 | 61 | 15.667 | 5.500 | 10.167 |
| 16 | Fukuoka 2023 | Netherlands (2nd title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 104 | 50 | 54 | 17.333 | 8.333 | 9.000 |
| 17 | Doha 2024 | United States (8th title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 92 | 41 | 51 | 15.333 | 6.833 | 8.500 |
| 18 | Singapore 2025 | Greece (2nd title) | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 85.7% | 122 | 67 | 55 | 17.429 | 9.571 | 7.857 |
| # | Women's tournament | Total | 117 | 107 | 1 | 9 | 91.5% | 1441 | 774 | 667 | 12.316 | 6.615 | 5.701 |
| Champion | MP | W | D | L | Win % | GF | GA | GD | GF/MP | GA/MP | GD/MP |
Sources:
- Official Reports (FINA) (PDF): "World Championship" (p. 57);
- Todor66: "Women's Water Polo World Championship".
The following table shows women's teams that won all matches during the tournament.
| # | Year | Champion | MP | W | D | L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1986 | Australia (1st title) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| 2 | 1991 | Netherlands (1st title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| 3 | 2003 | United States (1st title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| 4 | 2005 | Hungary (2nd title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| 5 | 2007 | United States (2nd title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| 6 | 2011 | Greece (1st title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| 7 | 2017 | United States (5th title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| 8 | 2019 | United States (6th title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| 9 | 2022 | United States (7th title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| 10 | 2023 | Netherlands (2nd title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| 11 | 2024 | United States (8th title) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
| # | Year | Champion | MP | W | D | L | Win % |
The following tables show records of goals for per match.
|
|
| Goals for per match | Achievement | Year | Champion | Date of winning gold | Duration of record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.857 | Set record | 1986 | Australia (1st title) | 22 August 1986 | 26 years, 345 days |
| 14.667 | Broke record | 2013 | Spain (1st title) | 2 August 2013 | 3 years, 360 days |
| 15.333 | Broke record | 2017 | United States (5th title) | 28 July 2017 | 1 year, 363 days |
| 15.500 | Broke record | 2019 | United States (6th title) | 26 July 2019 | 2 years, 341 days |
| 15.667 | Broke record | 2022 | United States (7th title) | 2 July 2022 | 1 year, 26 days |
| 17.333 | Broke record | 2023 | Netherlands (2nd title) | 28 July 2023 | 1 year, 360 days |
| 17.429 | Broke record | 2025 | Greece (2nd title) | 23 July 2025 | 1 year, 34 days |
The following tables show records of goals against per match.
|
|
The following tables show records of goals difference per match.
|
|
Player statistics
| (C) | Captain | Apps | Appearances | Ref | Reference | Rk | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L/R | Handedness | Pos | Playing position | FP | Field player | GK | Goalkeeper |
Multiple gold medalists
The following table is pre-sorted by number of gold medals (in descending order), number of silver medals (in descending order), number of bronze medals (in descending order), name of the player (in ascending order), date of receiving the last gold medal (in ascending order), date of receiving the first gold medal (in ascending order), respectively.
Fourteen female athletes won three or more gold medals in water polo at the World Aquatics Championships. They were all members of the United States women's national water polo team. Rachel Fattal, Maddie Musselman and Maggie Steffens are the only athletes (men or women) to win five gold medals in water polo at the World Aquatics Championships.
There are twenty six female athletes who won two gold medals in water polo at the World Aquatics Championships.
- Legend
- – Hosts
| Rk | Player | Birth | Height | Women's team | Pos | Water polo tournament | Period (age of first/last) | Medals | Ref | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | S | B | T | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Rachel Fattal | 1993 | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | United States | FP | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 11 years (19/30) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | [19] | |
| Maddie Musselman | 1998 | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | United States | FP | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 8 years (17/25) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | [20] | |||
| Maggie Steffens | 1993 | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | United States | FP | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 12 years (18/30) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | [21] | |
| 4 | Kaleigh Gilchrist | 1992 | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | United States | FP | 2015 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 8 years (23/31) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | [22] | |||
| Ashleigh Johnson | 1994 | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | United States | GK | 2015 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 9 years (20/29) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | [23] | ||||
| Amanda Longan | 1997 | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | United States | GK | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 8 years (20/28) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | [24] | |||
| 7 | Heather Petri | 1978 | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | United States | FP | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 10 years (23/33) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | [25] | ||
| Brenda Villa | 1980 | 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) | United States | FP | 1998 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 13 years (17/31) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | [26] | ||
| 9 | Kami Craig | 1987 | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | United States | FP | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 8 years (19/28) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | [27] | |||
| Makenzie Fischer | 1997 | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | United States | FP | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 4 years (18/22) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | [28] | ||||||
| Kiley Neushul | 1993 | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | United States | FP | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 6 years (20/26) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | [29] | |||||
| Jordan Raney | 1996 | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | United States | FP | 2017 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 6 years (21/27) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | [30] | |||||
| Melissa Seidemann | 1990 | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | United States | FP | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 8 years (21/29) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | [31] | ||||
| Alys Williams | 1994 | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | United States | FP | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 4 years (21/25) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | [32] | ||||||
| Rk | Player | Birth | Height | Women's team | Pos | Water polo tournament | Period (age of first/last) | G | S | B | T | Ref | |||||||
| Medals | |||||||||||||||||||
Multiple medalists
The following table is pre-sorted by total number of medals (in descending order), number of gold medals (in descending order), number of silver medals (in descending order), name of the player (in ascending order), date of receiving the last medal (in ascending order), date of receiving the first medal (in ascending order), respectively.
Nine female athletes won five medals in water polo at the World Aquatics Championships. Spanish player Anni Espar[33] is the only female athlete to win six medals in water polo at the World Aquatics Championships.
- Legend
- – Hosts
| Rk | Player | Birth | Height | Women's team | Pos | Water polo tournament | Period (age of first/last) | Medals | Ref | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | S | B | T | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Anni Espar | 1993 | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | Spain | FP | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 14 years (18/32) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | [33] | ||
| 2 | Rachel Fattal | 1993 | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | United States | FP | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 11 years (19/30) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | [19] | ||||
| Maddie Musselman | 1998 | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | United States | FP | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 8 years (17/25) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | [20] | ||||||
| Maggie Steffens | 1993 | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | United States | FP | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 12 years (18/30) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | [21] | ||||
| 5 | Laura Ester | 1990 | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | Spain | GK | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 15 years (19/34) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | [34] | ||
| Pili Peña | 1986 | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | Spain | FP | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 18 years (19/37) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | [35] | |
| 7 | Paula Crespí | 1998 | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | Spain | FP | 2017 | 2019 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 8 years (19/27) | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | [36] | ||||||
| Paula Leitón | 2000 | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | Spain | FP | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 10 years (15/25) | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | [37] | |||||
| Beatriz Ortiz | 1995 | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | Spain | FP | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 8 years (22/30) | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | [38] | ||||||
| Rk | Player | Birth | Height | Women's team | Pos | Water polo tournament | Period (age of first/last) | G | S | B | T | Ref | ||||||||||
| Medals | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Combined medal table
The following table is pre-sorted by number of gold medals (in descending order), number of silver medals (in descending order), number of bronze medals (in descending order), name of the country (in ascending order), respectively.
Italy, Hungary and Spain are the only three countries to win both the men's and women's water polo tournaments at the World Aquatics Championships.
- Legend
- † – Former country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States | 8 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| 2 | Hungary | 6 | 12 | 2 | 20 |
| 3 | Italy | 6 | 5 | 4 | 15 |
| 4 | Spain | 5 | 7 | 5 | 17 |
| 5 | Croatia | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| 6 | Netherlands | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| 7 | Greece | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| 8 | Serbia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Soviet Union† | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 10 | Yugoslavia† | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 11 | Australia | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 12 | Yugoslavia†[a] / Serbia and Montenegro† | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 13 | Canada | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 14 | China | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Montenegro | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 16 | Russia | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| 17 | West Germany† | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (17 entries) | 40 | 40 | 40 | 120 | |
See also
- List of World Aquatics Championships men's water polo tournament records and statistics
- List of World Aquatics Championships women's water polo tournament records and statistics
- List of world champions in men's water polo
- List of world champions in women's water polo
- List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in water polo
- Water polo at the Summer Olympics
- FINA Water Polo World Rankings
- List of water polo world medalists
- Major achievements in water polo by nation
Notes
- After the breakup of Yugoslavia, FR Yugoslavia men's national water polo team participated at the 1998 and 2001 World Aquatics Championships. 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.