Bronze for US men, 4th for US women
In the 24 years that women have participated in Olympic water polo, the United States has always managed to secure a place on the podium – until the 2024 Olympic Championships in Paris, where the USA lost its semifinal to Australia 14-13 in a penalty shootout and then lost the bronze medal match to the Netherlands 11-10, finishing fourth in the overall standings.
Meanwhile, the U.S. men were in the midst of a 16-year Olympic medal drought. At the last three Games, the men finished eighth (in London), 10th (in Rio) and sixth (in Tokyo), while the U.S. women were on a roll, winning three gold medals in a row.
On Sunday, August 11, the tide turned at the Arena La Défense in Paris, as the U.S. men won the bronze medal match, beating Hungary 11-8 on penalties after the match had been tied 8-8 at the final whistle.
Image source: American rapper Flavor Flav shows his support during the women’s preliminary round match between Italy and the United States (Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Unfortunately, the official hype man for both teams, rapper Flavor Flav, was not present at either bronze medal match. (He was reportedly busy in the U.S. handing over the Olympics from Paris 2024 to Los Angeles 2028 during Sunday’s closing ceremony.)
Either way, the result was bittersweet for both teams.
Image source: Maggie Steffens of Team USA shoots during the women’s semifinal against Team Australia at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris (Adam Pretty/Getty Images)
US women’s team captain Maggie Steffens said after the bronze medal loss: “We lost a little bit of focus and allowed the Netherlands to come back from a three or four goal deficit. That was the difference. It’s not necessarily about a goal or a moment, but that we lost focus.”
U.S. women’s head coach Adam Krikorian said: “We were really nervous and tense. We’re (also) small compared to most teams in the world, so that certainly has something to do with it. One of the most frustrating things for me is that nobody on the outside knows how hard it is to win. We made it look easy, but in these three Olympics, it’s been anything but that.”
Image source: Drew Holland in goal for Team USA (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Two-time U.S. Olympian guard Drew Holland said: “I think our whole team is a lot more experienced. We’ve had more of those moments. I think we had a few lucky rebounds, too, but we definitely relied on our experience and were a lot more confident at the end in those close games than we have in the past.”
Luca Cupido, a three-time Olympic center, said that unlike previous U.S. teams, “we were able to keep 10 players from the last Olympics. You could see that today. When we were behind in the last minute, the group stayed together. You could see that we believe in each other. That’s the difference. Being together longer and building stronger relationships.”
In addition, US defender Marko Vavic said: “Most of us have gained three years more experience and gotten three years older, which is a big thing – to mature in this sport, to develop your body and mind – while playing more competitive and demanding games.”
“This will probably be the second happiest day of my life,” said defender Alex Bowen, “because I’m getting married in 20 days. I’ve been playing water polo since I was eight years old. This is something I’ve always dreamed of doing.”
Image source: Al Bello/Getty Images
Despite the difference in results, both teams fought for each other. The US men watched the women’s bronze medal loss on live stream as they prepared for Sunday’s victory.
“I still think the women’s program is the best in the world, even though they didn’t win a medal,” said Cupido. “They will prove that next year.”
“We were disappointed with how they ended,” added Cupido, “but we’re also happy that we were able to bring a medal back because at the end of the day, it’s one program: USA Water Polo for men and women is one. Recently, we (men) haven’t been able to contribute anything and we’re happy that we were able to contribute a medal to the program.”
“Every tournament is different,” said Cupido. “Sometimes you get into a swing of things after one game and keep that momentum for the whole tournament.”
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