Water polo at the Deaflympics

Water polo is a water sport which has been contested at the Summer Deaflympics on 11 occasions.[1] Water polo was recognised as a sporting event at the Deaflympics for the first time in 1949 with only two nations competing in the event.[2] Water polo was contested only for men in the Deaflympic history and raised question marks regarding the availability of the sport at the Deaflympics.

The ICSD decided to remove water polo from the Summer Deaflympics due to lack of team preparations, decrease of teams, sponsorship issues and due to the dominance of Hungary in the sport.[3] The sport event was last appeared in a Deaflympic competition in 2009.[4][5]

Hungary is the most successful nation in the sporting event as it claimed 6 gold medals and 3 silver medals.

Reed Gershwind who is considered one of the most decorated Deaflympian has also competed in the water polo events representing United States in 1985, 1993 and 1997.[6]

Medal winners

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Games Gold Silver Bronze
1949  Denmark  Sweden not awarded
1957  Hungary  Netherlands  Italy
1961  Hungary  Netherlands  Germany
1977  Hungary  Italy  West Germany
1981  Hungary  Italy  West Germany
1985  Italy  Hungary  United States
1993  United States  Italy  Germany
1997  Hungary  United States  Italy
2001  Italy  Hungary  Germany
2005  Germany  Hungary  Italy
2009  Hungary  Italy  Germany

Medal table

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RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  Hungary6309
2  Italy2439
3  United States1113
4  Germany1067
5  Denmark1001
6  Netherlands0202
7  Sweden0101
Totals (7 entries)11111032

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Water polo | Deaflympics". www.deaflympics.com. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
  2. ^ "Water polo | 1949 Summer Deaflympics". www.deaflympics.com. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
  3. ^ "News | Deaflympics". www.deaflympics.com. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
  4. ^ "Deaflympics Taipei 2009 – Water Polo - Water Polo Victoria - SportsTG". SportsTG. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
  5. ^ "Water Polo". DeafNation Video. 2009-09-22. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
  6. ^ "Deaflympics 2017 Samsun". deaflympics2017.org (in Turkish). Retrieved 2017-12-20.