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

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

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: 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]00040812202428323648525660646872768084889296000408121620Years
 Soviet Union[b]732321813Defunct9
Unified Team[a]Part of Soviet Union3Defunct1
 KazakhstanPart of Soviet Union[a]91111Q4
 Russian FederationPart of Soviet Union[a]5233
 UkrainePart of Soviet Union[a]121
Total teams74612131451618211016131516121212121212121212121212

Number of appearances

Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend
  • Year* – As host team
  • Team – Defunct team
Men's team[1]AppsRecord
streak
Active
streak
DebutMost
recent
Best finishConfederation
 Soviet Union98019521988ChampionsEurope – LEN
Unified Team[a]11019921992Third placeEurope – LEN

Best finishes

Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend
  • Year* – As host team
  • Team – Defunct team
Men's team[1]Best finishAppsConfederation
 Soviet UnionChampions (1972, 1980*)9Europe – LEN
Unified Team[a]Third place (1992)1Europe – LEN

Finishes in the top four

Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend
  • Year* – As host team
  • Team – Defunct team
Men's team[1]TotalChampionsRunners-upThird placeFourth placeFirstLast
 Soviet Union72 (1972, 1980*)2 (1960, 1968)3 (1956, 1964, 1988)19561988
Unified Team[a]11 (1992)19921992

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

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
AppsPlayerBirthPosWater polo tournamentsAge of
first/last
ISHOF
member
NoteRef
12345
4Aleksei Barkalov1946FP196819721976198022/341993[2]

Notes:

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
Male athletes who won three or more Olympic medals in water polo
RkPlayerBirthHeightPosWater polo tournamentsPeriod
(age of
first/last)
MedalsRef
12345GSBT
1Aleksei Barkalov19461.80 m
(5 ft 11 in)
FP196819721976198012 years
(22/34)
2103[2]
2Leonid Osipov19431.87 m
(6 ft 2 in)
FP1964196819728 years
(21/29)
1113[3]
3Yevgeny Sharonov19581.89 m
(6 ft 2 in)
GK1980
URS
1988
URS
1992
EUN
12 years
(21/33)
1023[4]
4Vladimir Semyonov19381.84 m
(6 ft 0 in)
FP1960196419688 years
(22/30)
0213[5]
Viktor Ageyev19361.84 m
(6 ft 0 in)
FP1956196019648 years
(20/28)
0123[6]

Notes:

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
RkPlayerBirthL/RTotal
goals
Water polo tournaments
(goals)
Age of
first/last
ISHOF
member
NoteRef
12345
1Aleksei Barkalov1946381968
(14)
1972
(10)
1976
(6)
1980
(8)
22/341993[7]

Source:

Note:

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
YearCap
No.
GoalkeeperBirthAgeISHOF
member
NoteRef
1952Boris Goykhman191933Starting goalkeeper[8]
(Unknown)
1956 Boris Goykhman (2)191937[8]
Mikhail Ryzhak192729[9]
1960 Leri Gogoladze193822[10]
Boris Goykhman (3)191941[8]
1964 1Igor Grabovsky194123[11]
11Eduard Egorov194024[12]
1968 1Vadim Gulyayev194127[13]
11Oleg Bovin194622[14]
1972 1Vadim Gulyayev (2)194131[13]
11Viacheslav Sobchenko194923[15]
19761Anatoly Klebanov195223[16]
11Aleksandr Zakharov195422[17]
1980 1Yevgeny Sharonov1958212003[4]
11Viacheslav Sobchenko (2)194931[15]
1988 1Yevgeny Sharonov (2)1958292003[4]
13Mikheil Giorgadze196127[18]
1992 1Yevgeny Sharonov (3)1958332003[4]
13Alexander Tchigir196823[19]
YearCap
No.
GoalkeeperBirthAgeISHOF
member
NoteRef

Note:

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
RkHead coachNationalityBirthAgeMen's teamTournaments
(finish)
PeriodMedalsRef
12345GSBT
1Boris Popov  Soviet Union194139, 47  Soviet Union1980
(1st)
1988
(3rd)
12
years
1023[21]
[20]
 Russia51 Unified Team1992
(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
RkPersonBirthHeightPlayerHead coachTotal medalsRef
AgeMen's teamPosMedalAgeMen's teamMedalGSBT
1Aleksandr Kabanov19481.81 m
(5 ft 11 in)
24, 32  Soviet UnionFP1972 , 1980* 52–56  Russia2000 , 2004 2114[22]
[23]
2Vladimir Semyonov19381.84 m
(6 ft 0 in)
22–30  Soviet UnionFP1960 , 1964 ,
1968
34  Soviet Union1972 1214[5]
3Boris Popov19411.81 m
(5 ft 11 in)
23  Soviet UnionFP1964 39, 47  Soviet Union1980* , 1988 1034[21]
[20]
51 Unified Team1992

Olympic champions

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)
MatchRoundDateOpponentResultGoals
for
Goals
against
Goal
diff.
Match 1/8Preliminary round – Group C27 August 1972  ItalyWon413
Match 2/8Preliminary round – Group C28 August 1972  JapanWon11110
Match 3/8Preliminary round – Group C29 August 1972  BulgariaWon725
Match 4/8Preliminary round – Group C30 August 1972  SpainWon853
Match 5/8Final round – Group I1 September 1972  YugoslaviaWon541
Match 6/8Final round – Group I2 September 1972  West GermanyWon422
Match 7/8Final round – Group I3 September 1972  United StatesDrawn660
Match 8/8Final round – Group I4 September 1972  HungaryDrawn330
TotalMatches played: 8 • Wins: 6 • Ties: 2 • Defeats: 0 • Win %: 75.0%482424

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

Roster
Cap
No.
PlayerPosHeightWeightDate of birthAge of
winning gold
Oly
debut
GoalsISHOF
member
1Vadim GulyayevGK1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)90 kg (198 lb)5 February 194131 years, 212 daysNo0
2Anatoly AkimovFP1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)84 kg (185 lb)15 November 194724 years, 294 daysYes10
3Aleksandr DrevalFP1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)89 kg (196 lb)17 July 194428 years, 49 daysYes11
4Aleksandr DolgushinFP1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)99 kg (218 lb)7 March 194626 years, 181 daysNo22010
5Vladimir ZhmudskyFP1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)81 kg (179 lb)23 January 194725 years, 225 daysYes2
6Aleksandr KabanovFP1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)84 kg (185 lb)11 June 194824 years, 85 daysYes12001
7Aleksei BarkalovFP1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)82 kg (181 lb)18 February 194626 years, 199 daysNo101993
8Aleksandr ShidlovskyFP1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)82 kg (181 lb)1 February 194131 years, 216 daysNo4
9Nikolay MelnikovFP1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)86 kg (190 lb)24 January 194824 years, 224 daysYes1
10Leonid OsipovFP1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)90 kg (198 lb)6 February 194329 years, 211 daysNo7
11Viacheslav SobchenkoGK1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)86 kg (190 lb)18 April 194923 years, 139 daysYes0
Average1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)87 kg (192 lb)19 September 194526 years, 351 daysTotal48
CoachVladimir Semyonov1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)10 May 193834 years, 117 days

Sources:

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)
MatchRoundDateOpponentResultGoals
for
Goals
against
Goal
diff.
Match 1/8Preliminary round – Group A20 July 1980 ItalyWon862
Match 2/8Preliminary round – Group A21 July 1980 SpainWon431
Match 3/8Preliminary round – Group A22 July 1980  SwedenWon12111
Match 4/8Final round – Group A24 July 1980  HungaryWon541
Match 5/8Final round – Group A25 July 1980 SpainWon624
Match 6/8Final round – Group A26 July 1980  CubaWon853
Match 7/8Final round – Group A28 July 1980 NetherlandsWon734
Match 8/8Final round – Group A29 July 1980  YugoslaviaWon871
TotalMatches played: 8 • Wins: 8 • Ties: 0 • Defeats: 0 • Win %: 100%583127

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

Roster
Cap
No.
PlayerPosHeightWeightDate of birthAge of
winning gold
Oly
debut
GoalsISHOF
member
1Yevgeny SharonovGK1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)96 kg (212 lb)11 December 195821 years, 231 daysYes02003
2Sergey KotenkoFP1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)78 kg (172 lb)2 December 195623 years, 240 daysNo9
3Vladimir AkimovFP1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)80 kg (176 lb)20 July 195327 years, 9 daysYes3
4Yevgeny GrishinFP1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)93 kg (205 lb)1 October 195920 years, 302 daysYes5
5Mait RiismanFP1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)83 kg (183 lb)23 September 195623 years, 310 daysYes4
6Aleksandr KabanovFP1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)84 kg (185 lb)11 June 194832 years, 48 daysNo52001
7Aleksei BarkalovFP1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)82 kg (181 lb)18 February 194634 years, 162 daysNo81993
8Erkin ShagaevFP1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)74 kg (163 lb)12 February 195921 years, 168 daysYes5
9Giorgi MshvenieradzeFP1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)104 kg (229 lb)12 August 196019 years, 352 daysYes9
10Mikhail IvanovFP1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)98 kg (216 lb)18 April 195822 years, 102 daysYes10
11Viacheslav SobchenkoGK1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)86 kg (190 lb)18 April 194931 years, 102 daysNo0
Average1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)87 kg (192 lb)3 April 195525 years, 117 daysTotal58
CoachBoris Popov1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)21 March 194139 years, 130 days2019

Sources:

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: