Serbia men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics

This article lists various water polo records and statistics in relation to the Serbia men's national water polo team at the Summer Olympics.

The Serbia men's national water polo team has participated in 4 of 27 official men's water polo tournaments.[1]

Abbreviations

AppsAppearancesRkRankRefReferenceCap No.Water polo cap number
PosPlaying positionFPField playerGKGoalkeeperISHOFInternational Swimming Hall of Fame
L/RHandednessLLeft-handedRRight-handedOly debutOlympic debut in water polo
(C)Captainp.pagepp.pages

Team statistics

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: Yugoslavia men's Olympic water polo team (statistics), FR Yugoslavia men's Olympic water polo team[a] (statistics), Serbia and Montenegro men's Olympic water polo team (statistics).
  • Last updated: 8 August 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
  • Team – Defunct team
Abbreviation
  • FRY – FR Yugoslavia
  • SCG – Serbia and Montenegro
Men's team[1]00040812202428323648525660646872768084889296000408121620Years
 SerbiaPart of YugoslaviaP. of FRY / SCG33114
 Yugoslavia1092242155211Defunct12
 Yugoslavia[a]Part of Yugoslavia83Defunct2
 Serbia and MontenegroPart of YugoslaviaSee FRY2Defunct1
Total teams74612131451618211016131516121212121212121212121212

Number of appearances

Last updated: 27 July 2021.

Men's team[1]AppsRecord
streak
Active
streak
DebutMost
recent
Best finishConfederation
 Serbia44420082020ChampionsEurope – LEN

Best finishes

Last updated: 8 August 2021.

Men's team[1]Best finishAppsConfederation
 SerbiaChampions (2016, 2020)4Europe – LEN

Finishes in the top four

Last updated: 8 August 2021.

Men's team[1]TotalChampionsRunners-upThird placeFourth placeFirstLast
 Serbia42 (2016, 2020)2 (2008, 2012)20082020

Medal table

Last updated: 8 August 2021.

Men's teamGoldSilverBronzeTotal
 Serbia (SRB)2024

Player statistics

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: 6
  • Last updated: 8 August 2021.
Abbreviation
  • FRY – FR Yugoslavia
  • SCG – Serbia and Montenegro
  • SRB – Serbia
Male athletes who competed in water polo at four or more Olympics
AppsPlayerBirthPosWater polo tournamentsAge of
first/last
ISHOF
member
NoteRef
12345
4Vladimir Vujasinović1973FP1996
FRY
2000
FRY
2004
SCG
2008
SRB
22/35[2]
Dejan Savić1975FP1996
FRY
2000
FRY
2004
SCG
2008
SRB
21/33[3]
Aleksandar Šapić1978FP1996
FRY
2000
FRY
2004
SCG
2008
SRB
18/30[4]
Duško Pijetlović1985FP200820122016202023/36[5]
Andrija Prlainović1987FP200820122016202021/34[6]
Filip Filipović1987FP200820122016202021/34Flag bearer for Serbia (2020)[7]

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: 3
  • Number of three-time Olympic medalists: 11
  • Last updated: 11 August 2021.
Abbreviation
  • FRY – FR Yugoslavia
  • SCG – Serbia and Montenegro
  • SRB – Serbia
Male athletes who won three or more Olympic medals in water polo
RkPlayerBirthHeightPosWater polo tournamentsPeriod
(age of
first/last)
MedalsRef
12345GSBT
1Filip Filipović19871.96 m
(6 ft 5 in)
FP200820122016202013 years
(21/34)
2024[7]
Duško Pijetlović19851.97 m
(6 ft 6 in)
FP200820122016202013 years
(23/36)
2024[5]
Andrija Prlainović19871.87 m
(6 ft 2 in)
FP200820122016202013 years
(21/34)
2024[6]
4Milan Aleksić19861.93 m
(6 ft 4 in)
FP2012201620209 years
(26/35)
2013[8]
Dušan Mandić19942.02 m
(6 ft 8 in)
FP2012201620209 years
(18/37)
2013[9]
Stefan Mitrović19881.95 m
(6 ft 5 in)
FP2012201620209 years
(24/33)
2013[10]
Gojko Pijetlović19831.94 m
(6 ft 4 in)
GK2012201620209 years
(29/38)
2013[11]
4Slobodan Nikić19831.97 m
(6 ft 6 in)
FP2004
SCG
2012
SRB
2016
SRB
12 years
(21/33)
1113[12]
9Živko Gocić19821.93 m
(6 ft 4 in)
FP2008201220168 years
(25/33)
1023[13]
10Aleksandar Ćirić19771.92 m
(6 ft 4 in)
FP2000
FRY
2004
SCG
2008
SRB
8 years
(22/30)
0123[14]
Aleksandar Šapić19781.88 m
(6 ft 2 in)
FP1996
FRY
2000
FRY
2004
SCG
2008
SRB
12 years
(18/30)
0123[4]
Dejan Savić19751.90 m
(6 ft 3 in)
FP1996
FRY
2000
FRY
2004
SCG
2008
SRB
12 years
(21/33)
0123[3]
Vladimir Vujasinović19731.87 m
(6 ft 2 in)
FP1996
FRY
2000
FRY
2004
SCG
2008
SRB
12 years
(22/34)
0123[2]
Vanja Udovičić19821.93 m
(6 ft 4 in)
FP2004
SCG
2008
SRB
2012
SRB
8 years
(21/29)
0123[15]
RkPlayerBirthHeightPos12345Period
(age of
first/last)
GSBTRef
Water polo tournamentsMedals

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): 1
  • Number of goalscorers (40–49 goals): 1
  • Number of goalscorers (30–39 goals): 2
  • Last updated: 1 April 2021.
Abbreviation
  • FRY – FR Yugoslavia
  • SCG – Serbia and Montenegro
  • SRB – Serbia
Male players with 30 or more goals at the Olympics
RkPlayerBirthL/RTotal
goals
Water polo tournaments
(goals)
Age of
first/last
ISHOF
member
NoteRef
12345
1Aleksandar Šapić1978Right641996
FRY
(8)
2000
FRY
(18)
2004
SCG
(18)
2008
SRB
(20)
18/30[16]
2Filip Filipović1987Left412008
(4)
2012
(18)
2016
(19)
21/29[17]
3Vladimir Vujasinović1973Right341996
FRY
(14)
2000
FRY
(5)
2004
SCG
(3)
2008
SRB
(12)
22/35[18]
4Andrija Prlainović1987Right312008
(4)
2012
(22)
2016
(5)
21/29[19]

Sources:

  • Official Reports (PDF): 1996;
  • Official Results Books (PDF): 2000 (pp. 46, 50, 56, 78, 83, 85, 88, 92), 2004 (pp. 223–224), 2008 (pp. 211–212), 2012 (pp. 494–495), 2016 (pp. 131–132).

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: 27 July 2021.

Abbreviation
  • Eff % – Save efficiency (Saves / Shots)
YearCap
No.
GoalkeeperBirthAgeSavesShotsEff %ISHOF
member
NoteRef
2008 1Denis Šefik (2)197631224351.2%[20]
13Slobodan Soro197829579361.3%Starting goalkeeper[21]
2012 1Slobodan Soro (2)1978337513555.6%Starting goalkeeper[21]
13Gojko Pijetlović198329111764.7%[11]
2016 1Gojko Pijetlović (2)198333142166.7%[11]
13Branislav Mitrović1985316011950.4%Starting goalkeeper[22]
20201Gojko Pijetlović (3)198338[11]
13Branislav Mitrović (2)198536[22]
YearCap
No.
GoalkeeperBirthAgeSavesShotsEff %ISHOF
member
NoteRef

Source:

Notes:

Top sprinters

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

  • Number of sprinters (30+ sprints won, since 2000): 1
  • Number of sprinters (20–29 sprints won, since 2000): 0
  • Number of sprinters (10–19 sprints won, since 2000): 1
  • Number of sprinters (5–9 sprints won, since 2000): 4
  • Last updated: 15 May 2021.
Abbreviation
  • Eff % – Efficiency (Sprints won / Sprints contested)
  • FRY – FR Yugoslavia
  • SCG – Serbia and Montenegro
  • SRB – Serbia
Male players with 5 or more sprints won at the Olympics (statistics since 2000)
RkSprinterBirthTotal
sprints
won
Total
sprints
contested
Eff %Water polo tournaments
(sprints won / contested)
Age of
first/last
ISHOF
member
NoteRef
12345
1Aleksandar Ćirić1977405671.4%2000
FRY
(17/24)
2004
SCG
(14/20)
2008
SRB
(9/12)
22/30[14]
2Filip Filipović1987102245.5%2008
(8/15)
2012
(2/6)
2016
(0/1)
21/29[7]
3Aleksa Šaponjić199271163.6%2012
(7/11)
20/20[23]
Stefan Mitrović198872035.0%2012
(3/8)
2016
(4/12)
24/28[10]
5Živko Gocić198261931.6%2008
(1/4)
2012
(2/7)
2016
(3/8)
26/33[13]
6Miloš Ćuk199051145.5%2016
(5/11)
25/25[24]

Source:

  • Official Results Books (PDF): 2000 (pp. 46, 50, 56, 78, 83, 85, 88, 92), 2004 (pp. 223–224), 2008 (pp. 211–212), 2012 (pp. 494–495), 2016 (pp. 131–132).

Coach statistics

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.

As a water polo player, Dejan Savić won three consecutive Olympic medals between 2000 and 2008. At the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, he coached Serbia men's national team to the Olympic title.[3]

RkPersonBirthHeightPlayerHead coachTotal medalsRef
AgeMen's teamPosMedalAgeMen's teamMedalGSBT
1Dejan Savić19751.90 m
(6 ft 3 in)
25  YugoslaviaFP2000 41  Serbia2016 1124[3]
29  Serbia and MontenegroFP2004
33  SerbiaFP2008

Olympic champions

2016 Summer Olympics

  • Edition of men's tournament: 27th
  • Host city: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • Number of participating teams: 12
  • Competition format: Round-robin pools advanced teams to classification matches
  • Champion:  Serbia (1st title; 4th place in preliminary A group)
Results
MatchRoundDateCap
color
OpponentResultGoals
for
Goals
against
Goal
diff.
Match 1/8Preliminary round – Group A6 August 2016  White  HungaryDrawn13130
Match 2/8Preliminary round – Group A8 August 2016  White  GreeceDrawn990
Match 3/8Preliminary round – Group A10 August 2016  Blue  BrazilLost56–1
Match 4/8Preliminary round – Group A12 August 2016  White  AustraliaWon1082
Match 5/8Preliminary round – Group A14 August 2016  White  JapanWon1284
Match 6/8Quarter-finals16 August 2016  White  SpainWon1073
Match 7/8Semi-finals18 August 2016  Blue  ItalyWon1082
Match 8/8Gold medal match20 August 2016  Blue  CroatiaWon1174
TotalMatches played: 8 • Wins: 5 • Ties: 2 • Defeats: 1 • Win %: 62.5%806614

Source: Official Results Books (PDF): 2016 (pp. 9, 21, 37, 53, 65, 75, 83, 91).

Filip Filipović scored 19 goals at the 2016 Olympics, helping Serbia win gold. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the men's water polo tournament.
Roster
Cap
No.
PlayerPosL/RHeightWeightDate of birthAge of
winning gold
Oly
debut
ISHOF
member
1Gojko PijetlovićGKR1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)92 kg (203 lb)7 August 198333 years, 13 daysNo
2Dušan MandićFPL2.02 m (6 ft 8 in)105 kg (231 lb)16 June 199422 years, 65 daysNo
3Živko Gocić (C)FPR1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)93 kg (205 lb)22 August 198233 years, 364 daysNo
4Sava RanđelovićFPR1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)98 kg (216 lb)17 July 199323 years, 34 daysYes
5Miloš ĆukFPR1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)91 kg (201 lb)21 December 199025 years, 243 daysYes
6Duško PijetlovićFPR1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)97 kg (214 lb)25 April 198531 years, 117 daysNo
7Slobodan NikićFPR1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)106 kg (234 lb)25 January 198333 years, 208 daysNo
8Milan AleksićFPR1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)96 kg (212 lb)13 May 198630 years, 99 daysNo
9Nikola JakšićFPR1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)89 kg (196 lb)17 January 199719 years, 216 daysYes
10Filip FilipovićFPL1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)101 kg (223 lb)2 May 198729 years, 110 daysNo
11Andrija PrlainovićFPR1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)93 kg (205 lb)28 April 198729 years, 114 daysNo
12Stefan MitrovićFPR1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)91 kg (201 lb)29 March 198828 years, 144 daysNo
13Branislav MitrovićGKR2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)100 kg (220 lb)30 January 198531 years, 203 daysYes
Average1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)96 kg (212 lb)28 January 198828 years, 205 days
CoachDejan Savić1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)24 April 197541 years, 118 days

Note: Duško Pijetlović and Gojko Pijetlović are brothers.
Sources:

Abbreviation
  • MP – Matches played
  • Min – Minutes
  • G – Goals
  • Sh – Shots
  • AS – Assists
  • TF – Turnover fouls
  • ST – Steals
  • BL – Blocked shots
  • SP – Sprints
  • 20S – 20 seconds exclusion
  • DE – Double exclusion
  • Pen – Penalty
  • EX – Exclusion
Statistics
Cap
No.
PlayerPosMPMinutes playedGoals/ShotsASTFSTBLSprintsPersonal fouls
Min%GSh%WonSP%20SDEPenEX
1Gojko PijetlovićGK83212.5%1
2Dušan MandićFP817066.4%122450.0%410166
3Živko Gocić (C)FP815660.9%21216.7%33333837.5%11
4Sava RanđelovićFP86023.4%2450.0%2421311
5Miloš ĆukFP812247.7%62128.6%143251145.5%411
6Duško PijetlovićFP812950.4%81650.0%1172111
7Slobodan NikićFP811544.9%102050.0%113124
8Milan AleksićFP813452.3%41330.8%46531112
9Nikola JakšićFP88834.4%4757.1%4221312
10Filip FilipovićFP817869.5%194443.2%7966010.0%7
11Andrija PrlainovićFP821082.0%52520.0%65559112
12Stefan MitrovićFP817468.0%82630.8%1104741233.3%3
13Branislav MitrovićGK822487.5%11
Team3
Total8256100%8021237.7%28864640123237.5%92159
Against6621630.6%241024722203262.5%82147
Cap
No.
PlayerPosSaves/Shots
SavesShots%
1Gojko PijetlovićGK142166.7%
13Branislav MitrovićGK6011950.4%
Total7414052.9%

Source: Official Results Books (PDF): 2016 (p. 131).

Water polo people at the opening and closing ceremonies

Flag bearers

Some sportspeople were chosen to carry the national flag of their country at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games. As of the 2020 Summer Olympics, one male water polo player was given the honour to carry the flag for Serbia.

Legend
  •  2008 O  – Opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics
  •  2012 C  – Closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics
  • Flag bearer – Flag bearer who won the tournament with his team
Water polo people who were flag bearers at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games
#YearCountryFlag bearerBirthAgeHeightTeamPosWater polo tournamentsPeriod
(age of
first/last)
MedalsRef
12345GSBT
12020 O SerbiaFilip Filipović1987341.96 m
(6 ft 5 in)
 SerbiaFP200820122016202013 years
(21/34)
2024[7]

See also

Notes

References

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: