List of women's Olympic water polo tournament records and statistics


This is a list of records and statistics of the women's water polo tournament in the Olympic games ever since the inaugural official edition in 2000.

Confederation statistics

Best performances by tournament

All-time best performances

This is a summary of the best performances of each confederation at the Olympics.
;Legend
ConfederationBest performanceWomen's team
Africa – CANA——
1st
Asia – AASF5th
Europe – LEN1st,
Oceania – OSA1st

Team statistics

Debut of teams

;Legend
#YearDebuting teamsNumberCumulative total
12000'*,,,,, 66
22004'*,, 39
32008'*110
42012'*, 212
52016*113
62020TBDTBDTBD

Results of host teams and defending finalists

Comprehensive team results by tournament

Finishes in the top four

Medal table

Champions (results and squads)

Team records

Teams having equal quantities in the tables below are ordered by the tournament the quantity was attained in. If the quantity was attained by more than one team in the same tournament, these teams are ordered alphabetically.
Tournament positions
; Most titles won: 2, .
; Most finishes in the top two: 4, .
; Most finishes in the top three: 5, .
; Most finishes in the top four: 5, .
; Most appearances: 5, ; ; .
Consecutive
; Most consecutive medals: 5, .
; Most consecutive golds: 2, .
; Most consecutive silvers: None.
; Most consecutive bronzes: 2, .
; Most consecutive finishes in the top four: 5, .
; Most consecutive appearances: 5, ; ; .
Gaps
; Longest gap between successive titles: None.
; Longest gap between successive appearances in the top two: 12 years, .
; Longest gap between successive appearances in the top three: 16 years, .
; Longest gap between successive appearances in the top four: 16 years, .
; Longest gap between successive appearances: 8 years, .
Host team
; Best finish by host team: Champion: .
Other
; Most finishes in the top two without ever being champion: 1, ; .
; Most finishes in the top three without ever being champion: 2, .
; Most finishes in the top four without ever being champion: 3, .
; Most finishes in the top four without ever being medaled: 3, .

Player statistics

Age records

Multiple appearances (four-time Olympians)

Multiple medalists

Multiple gold medalists

Top goalscorers by tournament

All-time top goalscorers

Top goalkeepers by tournament

The following table is pre-sorted by edition of the Olympics, number of matches played, name of the goalkeeper, respectively.
Giulia Gorlero of Italy holds the record for the most saves by a female water polo goalkeeper in a single Olympic tournament, blocking 65 shots in the 2016 edition, and helping the Italian team win the Olympic silver medal.
;Legend
YearGoalkeeperBirthAgeHeightSavesMatches
played		Saves
per
match		Women's teamFinish
2000Karla Plugge4576.4294th of 6
teams
2004Jacqueline Frank4158.2003rd of 8
teams
2008Elizabeth Armstrong4959.8002nd of 8
teams
2012Elena Gigli5669.3337th of 8
teams
2016Giulia Gorlero65610.8332nd of 8
teams

Source:
The following table is pre-sorted by number of total saves, number of total Olympic matches played, date of the last Olympic match played, date of the first Olympic match played, name of the goalkeeper, respectively.
Yang Jun of China holds the record for the most shots saved by a female water polo goalkeeper at the Olympics, with 138 saves at three Olympics.
Elizabeth Armstrong, representing the United States, blocked 102 shots at two Olympics.
;Legend
Source:
The following table is pre-sorted by edition of the Olympics, number of matches played, name of the sprinter, respectively.
Kate Gynther, captain of the Australia women's national team, and Jennifer Pareja, captain of the Spain women's national team, were the joint top sprinters at the 2012 London Olympics.
;Legend
YearSprinterBirthAgeHeightSprints
won		Matches
played		 won
per
match		Women's teamFinish
2000Tatiana Petrova1672.2863rd of 6
teams
2004Kyriaki Liosi2163.5002nd of 8
teams
2008Wang Yi1853.6005th of 8
teams
2012Kate Gynther 2163.5003rd of 8
teams
2012Jennifer Pareja 2163.5002nd of 8
teams
2016Rachel Fattal1762.8331st of 8
teams

Source:
The following table is pre-sorted by number of total sprints won, number of total Olympic matches played, date of the last Olympic match played, date of the first Olympic match played, name of the sprinter, respectively.
Kate Gynther of Australia holds the record for the most sprints won by a female water polo player at the Olympics, with 39 sprints won at three Olympics.
;Legend
Source:

Most successful coaches

Medals as coach and player