Australia men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics

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

The Australia men's national water polo team has participated in 17 of 27 official men's water polo tournaments.^[1]

Abbreviations

Apps	Appearances	Rk	Rank	Ref	Reference	Cap No.	Water polo cap number
Pos	Playing position	FP	Field player	GK	Goalkeeper	ISHOF	International Swimming Hall of Fame
L/R	Handedness	L	Left-handed	R	Right-handed	Oly debut	Olympic debut in water polo
(C)	Captain	p.	page	pp.	pages

Team statistics

See also: National team appearances in the men's Olympic water polo tournament

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.
• Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend

•  1  – Champions
•  2  – Runners-up
•  3  – Third place
•  4  – Fourth place
•   – Qualified but were not allowed to compete
•  —  – The nation did not participate in the Games
•  Q  – Qualified for forthcoming tournament
•     – Hosts

Men's team[1]	00	04	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Australia			—	—						18	19	9	15	10	[a]	12	11	7	5	8	5		8	9	8	7	9	Q	17
Total teams	7		4	6	12	13	14	5	16	18	21	10	16	13	15	16	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12

Number of appearances

Last updated: 27 July 2021.

Legend

• Year^* – As host team

Men's team[1]	Apps	Record streak	Active streak	Debut	Most recent	Best finish	Confederation
Australia	17	6	6	1948	2020	Fifth place	Oceania – OSA

Best finishes

Last updated: 27 July 2021.

Legend

• Year^* – As host team

Men's team[1]	Best finish	Apps	Confederation
Australia	Fifth place (1984, 1992)	17	Oceania – OSA

Finishes in the top four

Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend

• Year^* – As host team

Men's team[1]	Total	Champions	Runners-up	Third place	Fourth place	First	Last
Australia	0					—	—

Medal table

Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Men's team	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Australia (AUS)	0	0	0	0

Player statistics

Multiple appearances

See also: List of players who have appeared in multiple men's Olympic water polo tournaments

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: 27 July 2021.

Legend

•     – Hosts

Male athletes who competed in water polo at four or more Olympics

Apps	Player	Birth	Pos	Water polo tournaments					Age of first/last	ISHOF member	Note	Ref
				1	2	3	4	5
4	Peter Montgomery	1950	FP	1972	1976	1980	1984		22/34	2013		[2]
	Andrew Kerr	1954	FP	1976	1980	1984	1988		22/34			[3]
	Gavin Woods	1978	FP	2000	2004	2008	2012		22/34			[4]
	Thomas Whalan	1980	FP	2000	2004	2008	2012		19/31			[5]
	Rhys Howden	1987	FP	2008	2012	2016	2020		21/34			[6]
	Richie Campbell	1987	FP	2008	2012	2016	2020		20/33			[7]

Note:

• Pietro Figlioli is listed in Italy men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics.

Top goalscorers

See also: List of men's Olympic water polo tournament 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): 0
• Number of goalscorers (30–39 goals): 3
• Last updated: 1 April 2021.

Legend

•     – Hosts

Male players with 30 or more goals at the Olympics

Rk	Player	Birth	L/R	Total goals	Water polo tournaments (goals)					Age of first/last	ISHOF member	Note	Ref
					1	2	3	4	5
1	Charles Turner	1952	Right	50	1976 (15)	1980 (17)	1984 (18)			23/31			[8]
2	Christopher Wybrow	1961		36	1984 (15)	1988 (10)	1992 (11)			22/30			[9]
3	Geoffrey Clark	1969		32	1988 (14)	1992 (18)				19/23			[10]
	Thomas Whalan	1980	Right	32	2000 (3)	2004 (14)	2008 (7)	2012 (8)		19/31			[11]

Sources:

• Official Reports (PDF): 1948–1964, 1972–1992;
• Official Results Books (PDF): 2000 (pp. 48, 52, 56, 65–66, 71, 73, 76), 2004 (pp. 187–188), 2008 (pp. 181–182), 2012 (pp. 468–469), 2016 (pp. 103–104).

Note:

• Pietro Figlioli is listed in Italy men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics.

Goalkeepers

See also: List of men's Olympic water polo tournament 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.

Legend and abbreviation

•     – Hosts
• Eff % – Save efficiency (Saves / Shots)

Year	Cap No.	Goalkeeper	Birth	Age	ISHOF member	Note	Ref
1948		Ben Dalley	1916	32		Starting goalkeeper	[12]
		(Unknown)
1952		Doug Laing	1931	21		Starting goalkeeper	[13]
		(Unknown)
1956		Doug Laing (2)	1931	25			[13]
		Bill McCabe	1935	21			[14]
1960		Michael Withers	1938	22		Starting goalkeeper	[15]
		(Unknown)
1964	1	Michael Withers (2)	1938	26		Starting goalkeeper	[15]
		(Unknown)
1972	1	Michael Withers (3)	1938	34			[15]
	13	Bill Tilley	1938	33			[16]
1976	1	Paul Williams	1955	21			[17]
	11	Rodney Woods	1954	21			[18]
1980	1	Michael Turner	1951	29			[19]
	11	Andrew Steward	1954	25			[20]
1984	1	Michael Turner (2)	1951	33			[19]
	13	Glenn Townsend	1962	22			[21]
1988	1	Glenn Townsend (2)	1962	26			[21]
	13	Donald Cameron	1954	34			[22]
1992	1	Glenn Townsend (3)	1962	30			[21]
	9	Guy Newman	1969	23			[23]
Year	Cap No.	Goalkeeper	Birth	Age	ISHOF member	Note	Ref

Year	Cap No.	Goalkeeper	Birth	Age	Saves	Shots	Eff %	ISHOF member	Note	Ref
2000	1	Eddie Denis	1970	29	56	107	52.3%		Starting goalkeeper	[24]
	13	Rafael Sterk	1978	22	8	18	44.4%			[25]
2004	1	James Stanton	1983	21	57	108	52.8%		Starting goalkeeper	[26]
	13	Rafael Sterk (2)	1978	26	1	3	33.3%			[25]
2008	1	James Stanton (2)	1983	25	48	109	44.0%		Starting goalkeeper	[26]
	13	Rafael Sterk (3)	1978	30	5	9	55.6%			[25]
2012	1	Joel Dennerley	1987	25	51	104	49.0%		Starting goalkeeper	[27]
	13	James Clark	1991	21	15	36	41.7%			[28]
2016	1	Joel Dennerley (2)	1987	29	29	51	56.9%			[27]
	13	James Stanton (3)	1983	33	22	40	55.0%			[26]
2020	1	Anthony Hrysanthos	1995	25						[29]
	13	Joel Dennerley (3)	1987	34						[27]
Year	Cap No.	Goalkeeper	Birth	Age	Saves	Shots	Eff %	ISHOF member	Note	Ref

Source:

• Official Results Books (PDF): 2000 (pp. 48, 52, 56, 65–66, 71, 73, 76), 2004 (pp. 187–188), 2008 (pp. 181–182), 2012 (pp. 468–469), 2016 (pp. 103–104).

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): 2
• Number of sprinters (5–9 sprints won, since 2000): 0
• Last updated: 15 May 2021.

Legend and abbreviation

•     – Hosts
• Eff % – Efficiency (Sprints won / Sprints contested)

Male players with 5 or more sprints won at the Olympics (statistics since 2000)

Rk	Sprinter	Birth	Total sprints won	Total sprints contested	Eff %	Water polo tournaments (sprints won / contested)					Age of first/last	ISHOF member	Note	Ref
						1	2	3	4	5
1	Rhys Howden	1987	42	49	85.7%	2008 (5/6)	2012 (19/24)	2016 (18/19)			21/29			[6]
2	Nathan Thomas	1972	15	19	78.9%	2000 (15/19)	2004 (0/0)				28/32			[30]
3	Thomas Whalan	1980	13	22	59.1%	2000 (9/13)	2004 (2/4)	2008 (1/1)	2012 (1/4)		19/31			[5]

Source:

• Official Results Books (PDF): 2000 (pp. 48, 52, 56, 65–66, 71, 73, 76), 2004 (pp. 187–188), 2008 (pp. 181–182), 2012 (pp. 468–469), 2016 (pp. 103–104).

Note:

• Pietro Figlioli is listed in Italy men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics.

Water polo people at the opening and closing ceremonies

Flag bearers

See also: Water polo at the Summer Olympics § 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 Australia.

Legend

•  2008 O  – Opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics
•  2012 C  – Closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics
•     – Hosts
• 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

#	Year	Country	Flag bearer	Birth	Age	Height	Team	Pos	Water polo tournaments					Period (age of first/last)	Medals				Ref
									1	2	3	4	5		G	S	B	T
1	1948 O	Australia	Les McKay	1917	31		Australia	FP	1948					0 years (31/31)	0	0	0	0	[31]

Oath takers

See also: Water polo at the Summer Olympics § Oath takers

Some sportspeople from the host nations were chosen to take the Olympic Oath at the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games. As of the 2020 Summer Olympics, one water polo referee from Australia was given the honour.^[32]

Peter Kerr, an Australian water polo referee, took the Officials' Oath at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.^[33]

Legend

•     – Hosts

Water polo people who were oath takers at the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games

#	Year	Oath	Country	Oath taker	Birth	Age	Water polo tournament			Ref
1	2000	Officials' Oath	Australia	Peter Kerr			1996	2000	As referee (official)	[33]

See also

• Australia women's Olympic water polo team records and statistics
• List of men's Olympic water polo tournament records and statistics
• Lists of Olympic water polo records and statistics
• Australia at the Olympics

Notes

1. While Australia had qualified to compete as one of sixteen water polo teams, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) did not endorse them. The Australian players responded by paying their own way to travel to Mexico City, but the team were not allowed to compete. For more details, please see here (1, 2).