In the men's side, veterans Thomas Whalan and Gavin Woods have been lured back by the five rings to attempt to qualify for their fourth Olympic Team. They are joined in the Sharks squad by firey youngsters Aidan Roach and Mitch Baird who are looking to make their Olympic debut. Captain Sam McGregor will be at his third Games and Rhys Howden, who is one of the most exciting talents in the world, continues to improve after his debut in 2008. At the 2011 World League the Australian men were sixth and just a few tight results off the medals. Serbia won the gold. At the 2011 World League the Australian women beat China for third place. The USA won gold ahead of surprise-packets Italy.
The Australian women are consistent performers and expect to take an even more talented squad to London than the Team that won bronze in 2008. The Stingers are buoyed by step-sisters Mel Rippon and Kate Gynther targeting London as their third Games. There are other Beijing medallists also seeking selection and outstanding new talent who will be on debut.
WATER POLO FORMAT
There is a men’s and women’s event at the Olympics. Eight teams play in the women's competition while 12 compete in the men's division. In the men's event, the qualifying teams are divided into two pools of six for a round-robin preliminary heat. The top four teams from each pool advance to the quarter-finals, and the quarter-finals winners advance to the medal rounds. The women's teams play a full round-robin preliminary heat, with the top four teams advancing to the medal rounds. The four teams failing to advance, play to determine fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth place.
Water polo is played by teams of seven in a pool with a goal at each end. Matches are divided into four periods of eight minutes, and each team has only 30 seconds to attempt to score before the ball is returned to the opposition. Players aren’t allowed to touch the sides or the bottom of the pool during play.
THE DRAW
The FINA Official Draw for the Men's & Women's Olympic Games Water Polo Tournaments 2012 to take place in London (GBR) was held on Saturday May 5, 2012 at 17:15 hours at the Olympic Family Lounge at the Aquatics Center, London (GBR).
Men's Draw
Group A:
1 Greece (GRE)
2 Italy (ITA)
3 Kazakhstan (KAZ)
4 Spain (ESP)
5 Australia (AUS)
6 Croatia (CRO)
Group B
1 Hungary (HUN)
2 Montenegro (MNE)
3 Romania (ROU)
4 Great Britain (GBR)
5 United States (USA)
6 Serbia (SRB)
Women's draw
Group A
1 Hungary (HUN)
2 Spain (ESP)
3 PR China (CHN)
4 United States (USA)
Group B
1 Italy (ITA)
2 Great Britain (GBR)
3 Russia (RUS)
4 Australia (AUS)
QUALIFICATION AND SELECTION
Australia has qualified a men's and women's team for the Games.
For all the Nomination and Selection documentation click here>>>
AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC HISTORY
The gold medal winning performance by the Australian women at their home Olympics in 2000 is the overwhelming highlight for Australia in this sport. In a nail-biting finish, Australia’s Yvette Higgins scored the winning goal with 1.2 seconds left on the clock. In Beijing 2008, after a series of close calls for the women's team to miss the gold medal game, they beat Hungary by one goal in a thrilling match to win bronze.
Australia’s men have not won a medal in water polo with the best placing being fifth at 1984 Los Angeles and 1992 Barcelona.
To read more about Australia’s Olympic water polo history, click here>>>