Comprehensive results by tournament

Notes:

• Results of Olympic qualification tournaments are not included. Numbers refer to the final placing of each team at the respective Games.
• At the 1904 Summer Olympics, a water polo tournament was contested, but only American contestants participated. Currently the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Swimming Federation (FINA) consider water polo event as part of unofficial program in 1904.
• Related teams: Unified Team men's Olympic water polo team^{†[lower-alpha 1]}, Kazakhstan men's Olympic water polo team (statistics), Russia men's Olympic water polo team (statistics), Ukraine men's Olympic water polo team.
• Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend

More information Men's team, Years ...

Men's team[1]	00	04	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Soviet Union†[lower-alpha 2]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7	3	2	3	2	1	8	1	—	3	Defunct								9
Unified Team†[lower-alpha 1]	—	—	—	—	—	Part of Soviet Union															3	Defunct							1
Kazakhstan	—	—	—	—	—	Part of Soviet Union															[lower-alpha 1]		9	11		11		Q	4
Russian Federation	—	—	—	—	—	Part of Soviet Union															[lower-alpha 1]	5	2	3					3
Ukraine	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Part of Soviet Union										[lower-alpha 1]	12							1
Total teams	7		4	6	12	13	14	5	16	18	21	10	16	13	15	16	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12

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Number of appearances

Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend

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

More information Men's team, Apps ...

Men's team[1]	Apps	Record streak	Active streak	Debut	Most recent	Best finish	Confederation
Soviet Union†	9	8	0	1952	1988	Champions	Europe – LEN
Unified Team†[lower-alpha 1]	1	1	0	1992	1992	Third place	Europe – LEN

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Best finishes

Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend

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

More information Men's team, Best finish ...

Men's team[1]	Best finish	Apps	Confederation
Soviet Union†	Champions (1972, 1980*)	9	Europe – LEN
Unified Team†[lower-alpha 1]	Third place (1992)	1	Europe – LEN

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Finishes in the top four

Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend

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

More information Men's team, Total ...

Men's team[1]	Total	Champions	Runners-up	Third place	Fourth place	First	Last
Soviet Union†	7	2 (1972, 1980*)	2 (1960, 1968)	3 (1956, 1964, 1988)		1956	1988
Unified Team†[lower-alpha 1]	1			1 (1992)		1992	1992

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Medal table

Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend

• Team^† – Defunct team

More information Men's team, Gold ...

Men's team	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Soviet Union (URS)†	2	2	3	7
Unified Team (EUN)†[lower-alpha 1]	0	0	1	1
Totals (2 entries)	2	2	4	8

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Multiple appearances

The following table is pre-sorted by number of Olympic appearances (in descending order), year of the last Olympic appearance (in ascending order), year of the first Olympic appearance (in ascending order), date of birth (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively.

• Number of five-time Olympians: 0
• Number of four-time Olympians: 1
• Last updated: 27 July 2021.

Legend

•     – Hosts

Notes:

• Dmitry Gorshkov is listed in Russia men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics.
• Nikolay Kozlov is listed in Russia men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics.

Multiple medalists

The following table is pre-sorted by total number of Olympic medals (in descending order), number of Olympic gold medals (in descending order), number of Olympic silver medals (in descending order), year of receiving the last Olympic medal (in ascending order), year of receiving the first Olympic medal (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively.

• Number of four-time Olympic medalists: 0
• Number of three-time Olympic medalists: 5
• Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend and abbreviation

•     – Hosts
• EUN – Unified Team
• URS – Soviet Union

Notes:

• Dmitry Gorshkov is listed in Russia men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics.
• Nikolay Kozlov is listed in Russia men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics.

Top goalscorers

The following table is pre-sorted by number of total goals (in descending order), year of the last Olympic appearance (in ascending order), year of the first Olympic appearance (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively.

• Number of goalscorers (50+ goals): 0
• Number of goalscorers (40–49 goals): 0
• Number of goalscorers (30–39 goals): 1
• Last updated: 1 April 2021.

Legend

•     – Hosts

Source:

• Official Reports (PDF): 1952–1980, 1988.

Note:

• Dmitry Apanasenko is listed in Russia men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics.

Goalkeepers

The following table is pre-sorted by edition of the Olympics (in ascending order), cap number or name of the goalkeeper (in ascending order), respectively.

Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend

•     – Hosts

More information Year, Cap No. ...

Year	Cap No.	Goalkeeper	Birth	Age	ISHOF member	Note	Ref
1952		Boris Goykhman	1919	33		Starting goalkeeper	[8]
		(Unknown)
1956		Boris Goykhman (2)	1919	37			[8]
		Mikhail Ryzhak	1927	29			[9]
1960		Leri Gogoladze	1938	22			[10]
		Boris Goykhman (3)	1919	41			[8]
1964	1	Igor Grabovsky	1941	23			[11]
	11	Eduard Egorov	1940	24			[12]
1968	1	Vadim Gulyayev	1941	27			[13]
	11	Oleg Bovin	1946	22			[14]
1972	1	Vadim Gulyayev (2)	1941	31			[13]
	11	Viacheslav Sobchenko	1949	23			[15]
1976	1	Anatoly Klebanov	1952	23			[16]
	11	Aleksandr Zakharov	1954	22			[17]
1980	1	Yevgeny Sharonov	1958	21	2003		[4]
	11	Viacheslav Sobchenko (2)	1949	31			[15]
1988	1	Yevgeny Sharonov (2)	1958	29	2003		[4]
	13	Mikheil Giorgadze	1961	27			[18]
1992	1	Yevgeny Sharonov (3)	1958	33	2003		[4]
	13	Alexander Tchigir	1968	23			[19]
Year	Cap No.	Goalkeeper	Birth	Age	ISHOF member	Note	Ref

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Note:

• Alexander Tchigir is also listed in Germany men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics.

Most successful coaches

The following table is pre-sorted by total number of Olympic medals (in descending order), number of Olympic gold medals (in descending order), number of Olympic silver medals (in descending order), year of winning the last Olympic medal (in ascending order), year of winning the first Olympic medal (in ascending order), name of the coach (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Boris Popov led the Soviet Union men's national water polo team to win an Olympic gold medal in 1980 and a bronze medal in 1988. Four years later, he coached the Unified Team men's national water polo team to another bronze medal.^[20]

Legend

•     – Hosts

More information Rk, Head coach ...

Head coaches who led men's national teams to win three or more Olympic medals

Rk	Head coach	Nationality	Birth	Age	Men's team	Tournaments (finish)					Period	Medals				Ref
						1	2	3	4	5		G	S	B	T
1	Boris Popov	Soviet Union	1941	39, 47	Soviet Union	1980 (1st)		1988 (3rd)			12 years	1	0	2	3	[21] [20]
		Russia		51	Unified Team				1992 (3rd)

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Medals as coach and player

The following table is pre-sorted by total number of Olympic medals (in descending order), number of Olympic gold medals (in descending order), number of Olympic silver medals (in descending order), year of winning the last Olympic medal (in ascending order), year of winning the first Olympic medal (in ascending order), name of the person (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Vladimir Semyonov, representing the Soviet Union, won three Olympic medals in a row between 1960 and 1968. As a head coach, he led the Soviet Union men's national water polo team to win an Olympic gold medal in 1972.^[5]

Soviet Boris Popov won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. He guided the Soviet Union men's national team to two Olympic medals in 1980 and 1988, and the Unified Team to a bronze medal in 1992.^[20]

Aleksandr Kabanov of the Soviet Union won a gold at the Munich Olympics in 1972, coached by Vladimir Semyonov. Eight years later, he won the second gold medal at the Moscow Olympics in 1980, coached by Boris Popov. As a head coach, he led Russia men's national team to win two consecutive medals in 2000 and 2004.^[22][23]

Legend

• Year^* – As host team

More information Rk, Person ...

Rk	Person	Birth	Height	Player				Head coach			Total medals				Ref
				Age	Men's team	Pos	Medal	Age	Men's team	Medal	G	S	B	T
1	Aleksandr Kabanov	1948	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)	24, 32	Soviet Union	FP	1972 , 1980*	52–56	Russia	2000 , 2004	2	1	1	4	[22] [23]
2	Vladimir Semyonov	1938	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)	22–30	Soviet Union	FP	1960 , 1964 , 1968	34	Soviet Union	1972	1	2	1	4	[5]
3	Boris Popov	1941	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)	23	Soviet Union	FP	1964	39, 47	Soviet Union	1980* , 1988	1	0	3	4	[21] [20]
								51	Unified Team	1992

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1972 Summer Olympics

• Edition of men's tournament: 16th
• Host city: Munich, West Germany
• Number of participating teams: 16
• Competition format: Round-robin pools advanced teams to the round-robin final pool
• Champion:  Soviet Union (1st title; 1st place in preliminary C group; 1st place in final I group)

More information Match, Round ...

Match	Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Goals for	Goals against	Goal diff.
Match 1/8	Preliminary round – Group C	27 August 1972	Italy	Won	4	1	3
Match 2/8	Preliminary round – Group C	28 August 1972	Japan	Won	11	1	10
Match 3/8	Preliminary round – Group C	29 August 1972	Bulgaria	Won	7	2	5
Match 4/8	Preliminary round – Group C	30 August 1972	Spain	Won	8	5	3
Match 5/8	Final round – Group I	1 September 1972	Yugoslavia	Won	5	4	1
Match 6/8	Final round – Group I	2 September 1972	West Germany	Won	4	2	2
Match 7/8	Final round – Group I	3 September 1972	United States	Drawn	6	6	0
Match 8/8	Final round – Group I	4 September 1972	Hungary	Drawn	3	3	0
Total	Matches played: 8 • Wins: 6 • Ties: 2 • Defeats: 0 • Win %: 75.0%				48	24	24

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Source: Official Reports (PDF): 1972 (pp. 358, 359, 363, 364, 365).

• Head coach: Vladimir Semyonov (1st title as head coach)

Sources:

• Official Reports (PDF): 1972 (pp. 358, 359, 363, 364, 365);
• Olympedia: 1972 (men's tournament);
• Sports Reference: 1972 (men's tournament);
• ISHOF.

1980 Summer Olympics

• Edition of men's tournament: 18th
• Host city: Moscow, Soviet Union
• Number of participating teams: 12
• Competition format: Round-robin pools advanced teams to the round-robin final pool
• Champion:  Soviet Union (2nd title; 1st place in preliminary A group; 1st place in final A group)

More information Match, Round ...

Match	Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Goals for	Goals against	Goal diff.
Match 1/8	Preliminary round – Group A	20 July 1980	Italy	Won	8	6	2
Match 2/8	Preliminary round – Group A	21 July 1980	Spain	Won	4	3	1
Match 3/8	Preliminary round – Group A	22 July 1980	Sweden	Won	12	1	11
Match 4/8	Final round – Group A	24 July 1980	Hungary	Won	5	4	1
Match 5/8	Final round – Group A	25 July 1980	Spain	Won	6	2	4
Match 6/8	Final round – Group A	26 July 1980	Cuba	Won	8	5	3
Match 7/8	Final round – Group A	28 July 1980	Netherlands	Won	7	3	4
Match 8/8	Final round – Group A	29 July 1980	Yugoslavia	Won	8	7	1
Total	Matches played: 8 • Wins: 8 • Ties: 0 • Defeats: 0 • Win %: 100%				58	31	27

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Source: Official Reports (PDF): 1980 (pp. 497, 500, 501, 502).

• Head coach: Boris Popov (1st title as head coach)

Sources:

• Official Reports (PDF): 1980 (pp. 497, 500, 501, 502);
• Olympedia: 1980 (men's tournament);
• Sports Reference: 1980 (men's tournament);
• ISHOF.