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

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
France	3[lower-alpha 1]	—		6	9	1	3		4	6			10							10	11						11		11
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: 5 May 2021.

Legend

• Year^* – As host team

Men's team[1]	Apps	Record streak	Active streak	Debut	Most recent	Best finish	Confederation
France	11	4	0	1900*	2016	Champions	Europe – LEN

Best finishes

Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend

• Year^* – As host team

Men's team[1]	Best finish	Apps	Confederation
France	Champions (1924*)	11	Europe – LEN

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
France	5	1 (1924*)		3 (1900*×2[lower-alpha 1], 1928)	1 (1936)	1900	1936

Medal table

Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Men's team	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
France (FRA)[lower-alpha 1]	1	0	3	4

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

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: 0
• Last updated: 1 May 2021.

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.

Sources:

• Official Reports (PDF): 1900, 1912–1928, 1936–1948, 1960, 1988–1992;
• Official Results Books (PDF): 2016 (pp. 114–115).

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: 1 April 2021.

Legend and abbreviation

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

Year	Cap No.	Goalkeeper	Birth	Age	ISHOF member	Note	Ref
1900		(Unknown)
1912		Jean Thorailler	1888	24		The only goalkeeper in the squad	[4]
1920		Jean Thorailler (2)	1888	32		The only goalkeeper in the squad	[4]
1924		Paul Dujardin	1894	30		The only goalkeeper in the squad	[5]
1928		Paul Dujardin (2)	1894	34		Starting goalkeeper	[5]
		(Unknown)
1936		Georges Delporte	1912	24		Starting goalkeeper	[6]
		(Unknown)
1948		François Débonnet	1931	16–17			[7]
		René Massol	1927	21			[8]
1960		Gérard Faetibolt	1932	28			[9]
		Roland Moellé	1940	20			[10]
1988	1	Arnaud Bouet	1960	28			[11]
	13	Christian Volpi	1965	23			[12]
1992	1	Jean-Marie Olivon	1967	25			[13]
	12	Christophe Gautier	1966	26			[14]
Year	Cap No.	Goalkeeper	Birth	Age	ISHOF member	Note	Ref

Source:

• Official Results Books (PDF): 2016 (pp. 114–115).

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): 0

• Number of sprinters (20–29 sprints won, since 2000): 0
• Number of sprinters (10–19 sprints won, since 2000): 0
• Number of sprinters (5–9 sprints won, since 2000): 0
• Last updated: 15 May 2021.

Source:

• Official Results Books (PDF): 2016 (pp. 114–115).

1924 Summer Olympics

The 1924 France men's Olympic water polo team. From left to right: Noël Delberghe, Paul Dujardin, Robert Desmettre, Albert Deborgies, Henri Padou, Albert Mayaud, and Georges Rigal.

• Edition of men's tournament: 6th
• Host city: Paris, France
• Number of participating teams: 13
• Competition format: Single-elimination tournament; Bergvall system for second- and third-place
• Champion:  France (1st title)

Match	Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Goals for	Goals against	Goal diff.
Match 1/4	Round one	13 July 1924	United States	Won	3	1	2
Match 2/4	Quarter-finals	15 July 1924	Netherlands	Won	6	3	3
Match 3/4	Semi-finals	16 July 1924	Sweden	Won	4	2	2
Match 4/4	Gold medal match	17 July 1924	Belgium	Won	3	0	3
Total	Matches played: 4 • Wins: 4 • Ties: 0 • Defeats: 0 • Win %: 100%				16	6	10

Source: Official Reports (PDF): 1924 (pp. 488, 490, 492).

• Head coach:

Sources:

• Official Reports (PDF): 1924 (pp. 488, 490, 492);
• Olympedia: 1924 (men's tournament);
• Sports Reference: 1924 (men's tournament);
• ISHOF.

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 France.

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
4	1928 O	France	Jean Thorailler	1888	40		France	GK	1912	1920				8 years (24/32)	0	0	0	0	[4]

Official Reports (IOC)

PDF documents in the LA84 Foundation Digital Library:

Official Results Books (IOC)

PDF documents in the LA84 Foundation Digital Library:

• Official Results Book – 2000 Olympic Games – Water Polo (download, archive)
• Official Results Book – 2004 Olympic Games – Water Polo (download, archive)
• Official Results Book – 2008 Olympic Games – Water Polo (download, archive)

PDF documents on the FINA website:

• Official Results Book – 2012 Olympic Games – Diving, Swimming, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo (archive) (pp. 284–507)

PDF documents in the Olympic World Library:

• Official Results Book – 2016 Olympic Games – Water Polo (archive)

PDF documents on the International Olympic Committee website:

• Official Results Book – 2020 Olympic Games – Water Polo (archive)

Official Reports (FINA)

PDF documents on the FINA website:

• HistoFINA – Water polo medalists and statistics (as of September 2019) (archive) (pp. 4–13)
• 1870–2020 | 150 years of Water Polo – Evolution of its rules (archive)

Official website (IOC)

Water polo on the International Olympic Committee website:

• Water polo
• Men's water polo

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: