2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES
In the concluding match of the water polo action at the 2024 Olympic Games, Serbia defeated Croatia to leave Paris with the gold medal. Despite having a rocky start to the tournament that saw the team go 2-3 in group-play, nearly missing the quarterfinals, Serbia pulled it together in fantastic fashion to defend their gold from 2020.
Men’s Gold Medal Match: Serbia Def. Croatia, 13-11
Despite Croatia getting the early advantage by winning the sprint and scoring an goal within the first 2 minutes of play, Serbia remained controlled offensively and defensively through the first quarter. Less than a minute after Croatia hit the net for the first time, Serbia’s Namanja Ubovic fired back with goal of his own to tie the game 1-1. Only 30 seconds later, Serbia’s Milos Cuk dropped another ball into the net, drawing up a 2-1 lead. Though Croatia tied the score again at 2-2, Serbia ended the first quarter on a 3-0 run through the last 2:30 of play, creating a 5-2 lead to end the quarter. Croatia again won the sprint and scored seconds into the 2nd quarter, but were again met with a scorring barrage by the Serbians. In less than 3 minutes of play, the score was set to 7-3 in favor of Serbia, giving the team a strong 4-point advantage. Though Croatian’s Loren Fatovic and Jerko Marinic Kragic both added goals to their team’s total in the closing 2 minutes of the half, Serbia’s Nikola Dedovic also found the net, keeping a 8-5 score in favor of Serbia to end the half.
In the third period, the Serbians maintained their 3-point advantage, matching the Croatian team almost perfectly shot-for-shot. Though Croatia attempted to gain ground, firing off three goals, they couldn’t do much with the Serbians also dropping 3 goals of their own. Ultimately, the third quarter ended in a score of 11-8. It appeared as though Croatia might finally regain some ground in the final quarter of the game, as a goal by Josip Vrlic early in the 4th reduced their deficit to 2-points. The team also managed to hold off an offensive surge by Serbia, keeping the score at 11-9. With 3:13 left to play, Dedovic finally netted another goal for Serbia, regaining their 3-point lead. Despite Croatia netting 2 goals in the closing minute of play, it was not enough to overcome the deficit with the game ending in a score of 13-11.
Men’s Bronze Medal Match: United Stated Def. Hungary, 11-8
For the first time in 16 years, the US men are taking home a medal in water polo after defeating Hungary 11-8. The game was incredibly close, with both teams remaining within 1 point of each other for the majority of the match. Actually, the 4th period resulted in a 8-8 tie between the teams, creating a winner-takes-all shootout situation.
In the shootout, it was the USA who shot first with Hannes Daube going up against Hungarian goalkeeper Soma Vogel. Daube managed to hit his shot, giving the US the 1-0 advantage. On the next shot, Hungarian Denes Varga faced-off against US goalkeeper Adrian Weinberg, with Varga hitting the post to miss his shot. With the US up 1-0, Max Irving hit another penalty shot to push the Americans to a 2-0 lead in the shootout. In what was arguably the most important shot of the entire shootout, Vinca Pal Vigvari was up next for Hungary. Vugvari threw a hard shot straight at the net that was saved by Weinberg, seemingly sealing the deal for the US. In the final shot for the United States, Alex Bowen hit the net to secure a 3-0 lead. With Gergi Zalanki hitting the post on the next shot for Hungary, the shootout concluded with the US winning 3-0, leading to an overall 11-8 victory for the bronze medal.
Weinberg posted one of his best showings of the whole tournament for the US, going 16 for 24 with a 67% save percentage. He also posted the only shootout shutout in the entire tournament at the most pivotal moment for the United States.
Other Men’s Game Results:
- Greece def. Spain 15-13
- Italy def. Australia, 10-6
Final Men’s Rankings – Elimination Rounds:
- Serbia
- Croatia
- USA
- Hungary
- Greece
- Spain
- Italy
- Australia
