Soviet Union men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics

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This article lists various water polo records and statistics in relation to the Soviet Union men's national water polo team and the Unified Team men's national water polo team[a] at the Summer Olympics.

The Soviet Union men's national water polo team and the Unified Team men's national water polo team[a] have participated in 10 of 27 official men's water polo tournaments.[1]

Abbreviations

Apps Appearances Rk Rank Ref Reference Cap No. Water polo cap number
Pos Playing position FP Field player GK Goalkeeper ISHOF International Swimming Hall of Fame
L/R Handedness L Left-handed R Right-handed Oly debut Olympic debut in water polo
(C) Captain p. page pp. pages

Team statistics

See also: National team appearances in the men's Olympic water polo tournament

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†[a], 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
  •  1  – Champions
  •  2  – Runners-up
  •  3  – Third place
  •  4  – Fourth place
  •  —  – The nation did not participate in the Games
  •  Q  – Qualified for forthcoming tournament
  •     – Hosts
  • Team† – Defunct team
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†[b] — — — — — — — — — — 7 3 2 3 2 1 8 1 — 3 Defunct 9
International Olympic Committee Unified Team†[a] — — — — — Part of Soviet Union 3 Defunct 1
 Kazakhstan — — — — — Part of Soviet Union [a] 9 11 11 Q 4
 Russian Federation — — — — — Part of Soviet Union [a] 5 2 3 3
 Ukraine — — — — — — — — — — Part of Soviet Union [a] 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

Number of appearances

Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend
  • Year* – As host team
  • Team† – Defunct team
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
International Olympic Committee Unified Team†[a] 1 1 0 1992 1992 Third place Europe – LEN

Best finishes

Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend
  • Year* – As host team
  • Team† – Defunct team
Men's team[1] Best finish Apps Confederation
 Soviet Union† Champions (1972, 1980*) 9 Europe – LEN
International Olympic Committee Unified Team†[a] Third place (1992) 1 Europe – LEN

Finishes in the top four

Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend
  • Year* – As host team
  • Team† – Defunct team
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
International Olympic Committee Unified Team†[a] 1 1 (1992) 1992 1992

Medal table

Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend
  • Team† – Defunct team
Men's teamGoldSilverBronzeTotal
 Soviet Union (URS)†2237
 Unified Team (EUN)†[a]0011
Totals (2 entries)2248

Player statistics

Multiple appearances

See also: List of players who have appeared in multiple men's Olympic water polo tournaments

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
Male athletes who competed in water polo at four or more Olympics
Apps Player Birth Pos Water polo tournaments Age of
first/last		 ISHOF
member		 Note Ref
1 2 3 4 5
4 Aleksei Barkalov 1946 FP 1968 1972 1976 1980 22/34 1993 [2]

Notes:

Multiple medalists

See also: List of Olympic medalists in water polo (men)

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
Male athletes who won three or more Olympic medals in water polo
Rk Player Birth Height Pos Water polo tournaments Period
(age of
first/last)		 Medals Ref
1 2 3 4 5 G S B T
1 Aleksei Barkalov 1946 1.80 m
(5 ft 11 in)		 FP 1968 1972 1976 1980 12 years
(22/34)		 2 1 0 3 [2]
2 Leonid Osipov 1943 1.87 m
(6 ft 2 in)		 FP 1964 1968 1972 8 years
(21/29)		 1 1 1 3 [3]
3 Yevgeny Sharonov 1958 1.89 m
(6 ft 2 in)		 GK 1980
URS		 1988
URS		 1992
EUN		 12 years
(21/33)		 1 0 2 3 [4]
4 Vladimir Semyonov 1938 1.84 m
(6 ft 0 in)		 FP 1960 1964 1968 8 years
(22/30)		 0 2 1 3 [5]
Viktor Ageyev 1936 1.84 m
(6 ft 0 in)		 FP 1956 1960 1964 8 years
(20/28)		 0 1 2 3 [6]

Notes:

Top goalscorers

See also: List of men's Olympic water polo tournament 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
Male players with 30 or more goals at the Olympics
Rk Player Birth L/R Total
goals		 Water polo tournaments
(goals)		 Age of
first/last		 ISHOF
member		 Note Ref
1 2 3 4 5
1 Aleksei Barkalov 1946 38 1968
(14)		 1972
(10)		 1976
(6)		 1980
(8)		 22/34 1993 [7]

Source:

Note:

Goalkeepers

See also: List of men's Olympic water polo tournament 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
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

Note:

Coach statistics

See also: List of men's Olympic water polo tournament records and statistics § Coach 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
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 International Olympic Committee Unified Team 1992
(3rd)

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
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 International Olympic Committee Unified Team 1992

Olympic champions

See also: List of Olympic champions in men's water polo

1972 Summer Olympics

  • Edition of men's tournament: 16th
  • Host city: West Germany 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)
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

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

Roster
Cap
No.		 Player Pos Height Weight Date of birth Age of
winning gold		 Oly
debut		 Goals ISHOF
member
1 Vadim Gulyayev GK 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 90 kg (198 lb) 5 February 1941 31 years, 212 days No 0
2 Anatoly Akimov FP 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) 84 kg (185 lb) 15 November 1947 24 years, 294 days Yes 10
3 Aleksandr Dreval FP 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 89 kg (196 lb) 17 July 1944 28 years, 49 days Yes 11
4 Aleksandr Dolgushin FP 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 99 kg (218 lb) 7 March 1946 26 years, 181 days No 2 2010
5 Vladimir Zhmudsky FP 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 81 kg (179 lb) 23 January 1947 25 years, 225 days Yes 2
6 Aleksandr Kabanov FP 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) 84 kg (185 lb) 11 June 1948 24 years, 85 days Yes 1 2001
7 Aleksei Barkalov FP 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 82 kg (181 lb) 18 February 1946 26 years, 199 days No 10 1993
8 Aleksandr Shidlovsky FP 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 82 kg (181 lb) 1 February 1941 31 years, 216 days No 4
9 Nikolay Melnikov FP 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) 86 kg (190 lb) 24 January 1948 24 years, 224 days Yes 1
10 Leonid Osipov FP 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 90 kg (198 lb) 6 February 1943 29 years, 211 days No 7
11 Viacheslav Sobchenko GK 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 86 kg (190 lb) 18 April 1949 23 years, 139 days Yes 0
Average 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) 87 kg (192 lb) 19 September 1945 26 years, 351 days Total 48
Coach Vladimir Semyonov 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) 10 May 1938 34 years, 117 days

Sources:

1980 Summer Olympics

  • Edition of men's tournament: 18th
  • Host city: Soviet Union 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)
Match Round Date Opponent Result Goals
for		 Goals
against		 Goal
diff.
Match 1/8 Preliminary round – Group A 20 July 1980 International Olympic Committee Italy Won 8 6 2
Match 2/8 Preliminary round – Group A 21 July 1980 International Olympic Committee 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 International Olympic Committee 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 International Olympic Committee 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

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

Roster
Cap
No.		 Player Pos Height Weight Date of birth Age of
winning gold		 Oly
debut		 Goals ISHOF
member
1 Yevgeny Sharonov GK 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) 96 kg (212 lb) 11 December 1958 21 years, 231 days Yes 0 2003
2 Sergey Kotenko FP 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) 78 kg (172 lb) 2 December 1956 23 years, 240 days No 9
3 Vladimir Akimov FP 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) 80 kg (176 lb) 20 July 1953 27 years, 9 days Yes 3
4 Yevgeny Grishin FP 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) 93 kg (205 lb) 1 October 1959 20 years, 302 days Yes 5
5 Mait Riisman FP 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) 83 kg (183 lb) 23 September 1956 23 years, 310 days Yes 4
6 Aleksandr Kabanov FP 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) 84 kg (185 lb) 11 June 1948 32 years, 48 days No 5 2001
7 Aleksei Barkalov FP 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 82 kg (181 lb) 18 February 1946 34 years, 162 days No 8 1993
8 Erkin Shagaev FP 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) 74 kg (163 lb) 12 February 1959 21 years, 168 days Yes 5
9 Giorgi Mshvenieradze FP 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 104 kg (229 lb) 12 August 1960 19 years, 352 days Yes 9
10 Mikhail Ivanov FP 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 98 kg (216 lb) 18 April 1958 22 years, 102 days Yes 10
11 Viacheslav Sobchenko GK 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 86 kg (190 lb) 18 April 1949 31 years, 102 days No 0
Average 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) 87 kg (192 lb) 3 April 1955 25 years, 117 days Total 58
Coach Boris Popov 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) 21 March 1941 39 years, 130 days 2019

Sources:

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k In 1992, 12 of the 15 former Soviet Republics competed together as the Unified Team and marched under the Olympic Flag in the Barcelona Games.
  2. ^ The Olympic Committee of the Soviet Union was formed on 21 April 1951, and was recognised by the International Olympic Committee on 7 May 1951.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "HistoFINA – Water polo medalists and statistics" (PDF). fina.org. FINA. September 2019. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Aleksei Barkalov". olympedia.org. Olympedia. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Leonid Osipov". olympedia.org. Olympedia. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d "Yevgeny Sharonov". olympedia.org. Olympedia. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "Vladimir Semyonov". olympedia.org. Olympedia. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Viktor Ageyev". olympedia.org. Olympedia. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Aleksei Barkalov". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  8. ^ a b c "Boris Goykhman". olympedia.org. Olympedia. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Mikhail Ryzhak". olympedia.org. Olympedia. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Leri Gogoladze". olympedia.org. Olympedia. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Igor Grabovsky". olympedia.org. Olympedia. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Eduard Egorov". olympedia.org. Olympedia. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Vadim Gulyayev". olympedia.org. Olympedia. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Oleg Bovin". olympedia.org. Olympedia. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Viacheslav Sobchenko". olympedia.org. Olympedia. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  16. ^ "Anatoly Klebanov". olympedia.org. Olympedia. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  17. ^ "Aleksandr Zakharov". olympedia.org. Olympedia. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  18. ^ "Mikheil Giorgadze". olympedia.org. Olympedia. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  19. ^ "Alexander Tchigir". olympedia.org. Olympedia. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  20. ^ a b c d "Boris Popov (RUS)". ishof.org. ISHOF. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  21. ^ a b "Boris Popov". olympedia.org. Olympedia. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  22. ^ a b "Aleksandr Kabanov". olympedia.org. Olympedia. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  23. ^ a b "Aleksandr S. Kabanov (URS)". ishof.org. ISHOF. Retrieved 5 May 2020.

Sources

Official Reports (IOC)

PDF documents in the LA84 Foundation Digital Library:

Official Results Books (IOC)

PDF documents in the LA84 Foundation Digital Library:

PDF documents on the FINA website:

PDF documents in the Olympic World Library:

PDF documents on the International Olympic Committee website:

Official Reports (FINA)

PDF documents on the FINA website:

Official website (IOC)

Water polo on the International Olympic Committee website:

Olympedia

Water polo on the Olympedia website:

Sports Reference

Water polo on the Sports Reference website:

Todor66

Water polo on the Todor66 website:

ISHOF

International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) website: