Day 3 Review: Australia too strong for Italy

The Australia women's Water Polo team hung on to beat world champions Italy 10-8 and kick-start their Olympic Games campaign.

POLO AIR INDONESIA-They led for almost all of the Group A match, but the Italians kept bouncing back in a thrilling cat-and-mouse encounter. However, Australia held their nerve to close out victory.

Australia captain Kate Gynther scored a hat-trick, while Nicola Zagame slotted home twice. Single goals from Holly Lincoln-Smith, Bronwen Knox, Rowie Webster, Glencora Ralph and Ash Southern completed the tally.

Italy duo Federica Radicchi and Tania di Mario each scored a brace, with Simona Abbate, captain Elisa Casanova, Aniko Pelle and Roberta Bianconi contributing a goal each to their haul.

Meanwhile, USA edged past Hungary 14-13 in a thrilling match.

Maggie Steffens scored seven for the winning side, while Courtney Mathewson found the back of the net four times.

Captain Brenda Villa, Kelly Rulon and Kami Craig each scored one goal.

Barbara Bujka scored four for Hungary, Dora Antal netted three, and Gabriella Szucs scored two.

Orsolya Takacs, captain Rita Dravucz, Ildiko Toth and Dora Csabai scored one goal.

In other games, Spain overcame China 11-6 and Russia edge out Host Nation Great Britain 7-6.

Hungary edged out in thriller

The USA women's Water Polo team edged past Hungary 14-13 in a thrilling match

POLO AIR INDONESIA-The USA took the lead in the first period and never trailed in the game - but their opponents were no more than two goals behind at any stage.

Hungary have never claimed a Water Polo medal at an Olympic Games since the first competition at Sydney 2000.

The USA are in the hunt for their first gold medal, after winning a silver four years ago, and finishing on the podium in both previous Games.

Maggie Steffens scored seven for the winning side, while Courtney Mathewson found the back of the net four times.

Captain Brenda Villa, Kelly Rulon and Kami Craig each scored one goal.

Barbara Bujka scored four for Hungary, Dora Antal netted three, and Gabriella Szucs scored two.

Orsolya Takacs, captain Rita Dravucz, Ildiko Toth and Dora Csabai scored one goal.

Day 2 Review: Italy start title attempt with a win

Reigning world champions Italy started their Olympic Games men's Water Polo campaign with an 8-5 victory over Australia.

POLO AIR INDONESIA - The Italians' discipline during crucial man-up situations made the difference as they took advantage of almost all of their power-plays.

Australia fought back in the second half, but by then their opponents had done enough to see out the win.

Italy flew out of the blocks to take a 3-1 lead for the first quarter, as Niccolo Gitto, Danijel Premus and Alex Giorgetti scored from all three of their man-ups.

Australia took just one of their three chances when Tim Cleland found the back of the net.

A crucial moment came in the second quarter when Australia captain Sam McGregor squandered a penalty by straying over the five-metre line.

A goal would have taken the score to 3-2, but the miss triggered an Italian counter-attack and Matteo Aicardi netted to make it 4-1.

Italy went on to put daylight between their opponents as Maurizio Felugo scored a man-up to make it 5-1 before Ritchie Campbell pulled a goal back before half time.

Australia scored the only goal in the third period with a close-range effort from driver Rhys Howden to bring the score to 5-3 to Italy.

Italian Alex Giorgetti opened the scoring in the fourth period, before compatriot Pietro Figlioli took advantage of a man-up to make it 7-3.

Aidan Roach scored a long-range effort for Australia to bring the scores to 7-4, and an unlikely comeback looked possible when a Australian Johnno Cotterill scrambled home a goal to make it 7-5 after an Australian time-out.

However, it was Italy who scored the final goal to win by three.

Italy's conversion rate from man-ups was an impressive six from seven, while Australia only managed one from five.

Elsewhere, reigning Olympic Games champions Hungary suffered a 14-10 defeat to arch rivals Serbia.

The 2008 winners lost to the Beijing bronze medallists in a bruising encounter which saw Serbian driver Andrija Prlainovic score five second-half goals.

Hungary are aiming to win their fourth consecutive Olympic title – their 10th overall – while Serbia are seeking to improve on podium finishes in the last three Games, and clinch their first gold medal since Yugoslavia won in Seoul in 1988.

In the day's other games, Romania beat hosts Great Britain, Croatia overcame Greece, Spain cruised past Kazakhstan and United States edged out Montenegro

Hungary out to maintain dominance

The Hungary men's Water Polo team are hoping to win their fourth consecutive Olympic title at London 2012.

POLO AIR INDONESIA-They picked up gold at Beijing, Athens and Sydney, and have been the dominating force in the sport for almost 80 years, winning nine Olympic golds.

Standing in their way in the group stages are 2008 silver medallists USA, bronze medallists Serbia and fourth-placed Montenegro.

The reigning champions also face Host Nation Great Britain and Romania.

In the other group of six are Croatia, Greece, Kazakhstan, Spain, Italy and Australia.

Croatia have recently won the world league competition and Italy are the reigning world champions.

Four teams from each group will go through to the quarter-final stages.

With so many strong teams in the competition, there will be some crucial battles played out in the pool.

The women's competition is made up of two groups of four teams.

Hosts Great Britain line up against Italy, Australia and Russia, while 2008 silver medallists USA will take on Spain, China and Hungary in the group stages.

Reigning Olympic champions Holland failed to qualify for London 2012.

All four teams from each group will qualify to the quarter-finals, so the competition is bound to throw up some surprises.

Hungary out to maintain dominance

The Hungary men's Water Polo team are hoping to win their fourth consecutive Olympic title at London 2012.

POLO AIR INDONESIA-They picked up gold at Beijing, Athens and Sydney, and have been the dominating force in the sport for almost 80 years, winning nine Olympic golds.

Standing in their way in the group stages are 2008 silver medallists USA, bronze medallists Serbia and fourth-placed Montenegro.

The reigning champions also face Host Nation Great Britain and Romania.

In the other group of six are Croatia, Greece, Kazakhstan, Spain, Italy and Australia.

Croatia have recently won the world league competition and Italy are the reigning world champions.

Four teams from each group will go through to the quarter-final stages.

With so many strong teams in the competition, there will be some crucial battles played out in the pool.

The women's competition is made up of two groups of four teams.

Hosts Great Britain line up against Italy, Australia and Russia, while 2008 silver medallists USA will take on Spain, China and Hungary in the group stages.

Reigning Olympic champions Holland failed to qualify for London 2012.

All four teams from each group will qualify to the quarter-finals, so the competition is bound to throw up some surprises.

12 things you need to know about Water Polo

1. THE Water Polo Arena next door to the Aquatics Centre at the Olympic Park will hold the event between Sunday, July 29 and Sunday, August 12.

2. TWO medal events will be contested — the men’s and women’s team competitions featuring a total of 260 players.

3. A DOZEN teams will be in the men’s event, with eight in the women’s. Group matches will be followed by a knockout stage.

4. WATER POLO is a seven-a-side game with rolling subs played over four periods of eight minutes each. The aim is to score in a floating goal similar in size to those used in five-a-side football.

5. EXTRA-TIME and penalties are played to decide tied matches when necessary.

6. AS in basketball there is a shot clock. Teams must shoot within 30 seconds of getting the ball.

7. ALSO like basketball, the clock stops and restarts during play which means matches of 32 minutes actually last for more than an hour.

8. THE game is a contact sport and the rules are pretty liberal although, in theory, contact is only allowed when a player has the ball and no punching is allowed.

9. FOULS can be punished with 20-second sin-binnings and expulsions if they are deemed serious enough.

10. TEAM GB will be outsiders going into the Games but actually won four of the first five Olympic tournaments.

11. MEN’S water polo was first played at the Olympics in 1900 but a women’s competition was only introduced in 2000.

12. THE original version of the sport featured players floating on barrels and hitting the ball with mallets — hence the word polo in the name.

FORGET everything you thought you knew about water polo

The Middle-Aged swimming caps, the public schoolboys too soft for rugby, the horses...

This is a sport in which ‘brutality’ is an official term as well as an occupational hazard.

This is the excuse to disobey virtually every sign at the swimming pool apart from ‘no petting’.

This is arguably the toughest sport in theOlympics.

I had done a bit of research before arriving at the Manchester Aquatics Centre for a taster session with the Team GB women’s team.

But nothing prepared me for the demands to come — as much as nothing will have prepared you for the sight of me wearing Speedos. Believe me, it was the least of my humiliations.

After only a few minutes of practising the basic types of one-handed pass, the first problem became painfully obvious — it is exhausting just to keep yourself afloat.

Fiona McCann said: “People see it as swimming but when you are swimming you are going one end to the other and you have a rest at the end of the length.

“And you are only swimming for a few minutes at a time. But water polo is an hour, really. You have small gaps in between but, basically, you’re moving the whole time.”

GB head coach Szilveszter Fekete, a former Hungary star, added: “Water polo players will be some of the fittest athletes at the Olympics.

“Rugby is a very big contact sport but just for 10-20 seconds, then you can rest. This is a contact sport in every position, every second.”

Ah, yes, the contact. Playing as the equivalent of a centre-back in football, it is McCann’s job to patrol the ‘pit’ in front of Team GB’s goal and stop the opposition centre-forward shooting.

What I didn’t know was her nickname — Butcher. And I was to be the, er, meat.

As a well brought-up young man, I was initially reluctant to manhandle a lady in a swimsuit. But if I was to have any chance of not drowning, making space to receive the ball, escaping the Butcher and scoring, I was going to have to play dirty.

With a bit of pushing, holding, ducking and diving, just once I successfully broke away to force the ball into an empty, makeshift goal.

But McCann, 25, ruled my effort out because I used two hands to score.

She never needed to stop me with a ‘brutality’ — a blatant kick, punch or elbow which leads to immediate ejection.

But water polo players are masters of the dark arts.

Chloe Wilcox, 25, said: “The most common thing is you get bruises all over your boobs. It’s the easiest place to grab.

“And if you don’t like the girl you are up against you grab and twist — the nipple twist. There’s biting.

“Don’t put your head under the water because the referee can’t see. You’ll get kneed or kicked or punched. People will bite you to get you off — or just because they are weird!”

McCann added: “There will be someone in the pit fighting, someone on the wing fighting, the ball will go over someone that’s also fighting. There will be a goal one side and someone fighting in the corner.

“It’s mad to watch. There’s always something happening and you’ll never get bored.

“It’s great for TV as well because you get to see the replay.

“Watch the Butcher doing her work.”

In the end, the Butcher went easy on me. The worst thing I suffered was a cheeky pinch on the bum while posing for a photo. Well, they are only human. (the sun)

Olimpiade London 2012

A total 1,450 athletes will make the trip to London (GBR) to compete in one of FINA’s five aquatics disciplines – Swimming and Marathon Swimming, Diving, Water Polo, Synchronised Swimming – for the XXX Olympiad from July 27 to August 12.

SWIMMING
Dates: July 28-August 4, 2012
Events: For Men and Women (32) – 50m free, 100m free, 200m free, 400m free, 800m free (women only), 1500m free (men only), 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke, 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley, 4x100m free relay, 4x200m free relay, 4x100m medley relay
Venue: Aquatics Centre, 17,500 seats
Number of athletes: 900
Participating Relays:
Men's 4x100m free – AUS, FRA, USA, ITA, RUS, RSA, GER, GBR, BEL, BRA, HUN, CAN, CHN, VEN , SRB.
Men's 4x200m free – USA, FRA, CHN, GER, AUS, JPN, GBR, ITA, AUT, HUN, CAN, NZL, RUS, DEN, BEL, RSA.
Men's 4x100m medley – USA, AUS, GER, ITA, JPN, NED, HUN, BRA, NZL, CAN, FRA, RUS, POL, GBR, RSA, CHN.
Women's 4x100m free – NED, USA, GER, CHN, AUS, SWE, CAN, JPN, DEN, GBR, ITA, RUS, NZL, HUN, GRE, BLR. Women's 4x200m free – USA, AUS, CHN, CAN, HUN, FRA, ITA, GBR, NZL, JPN, GER, RUS, SLO, ESP, POL, UKR.
Women's 4x100m medley – USA, CHN, AUS, RUS, JPN, GER, GBR, CAN, DEN, ITA, SWE, NED, ESP, FRA, ISL, HUN.
Athletes/countries to follow: Men – James Magnussen (AUS), Cesar Cielo Filho (BRA), Ryan Cochrane (CAN), Yang Sun (CHN), Yannick Agnel, Camille Lacourt (FRA), Paul Biedermann (GER), Ryosuke Irie, Kosuke Kitajima (JPN), Taeh Wan Park (PRK), Chad Le Clos (RSA), Oussama Mellouli (TUN), Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte (USA). Relays – AUS, FRA, GER, USA. Women – Leisel Jones, Stephanie Rice (AUS), Zige Liu, Shiwen Ye (CHN), Laure Manaudou, Camille Muffat (FRA), Rebecca Adlington, Francesca Halsall (GBR), Federica Pellegrini (ITA), Satomi Suzuki (JPN), Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED), Anastasia Zueva (RUS), Sarah Sjoestroem (SWE), Missy Franklin, Jessica Hardy, Rebecca Soni (USA). Relays – AUS, CHN, NED, USA.
Entry in the Olympic programme: 1896
Most decorated athletes: Men – Michael Phelps (USA, 14G, 2B), Mark Spitz (USA, 9G, 1S, 1B), Matt Biondi (USA, 8G, 2S, 1B), Gary Hall Jr. (USA, 5G, 3S, 2B). Women – Jenny Thompson (USA, 7G, 3S, 1B), Kristin Otto (GDR, 6G), Krisztina Egerszegi (HUN, 5G, 1S, 1B).

MARATHON SWIMMING
Dates: August 9-10, 2012
Event: For Men and Women (2) – 10km
Location: Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park, 3’000 seats (spectators can also watch free of charge)
Number of athletes: 50
Athletes/countries to follow: Men – Petar Stoychev (BUL), Thomas Lurz (GER), Spyridon Gianniotis (GRE), Vladimir Dyatchin (RUS), Oussama Mellouli (TUN). Women – Poliana Okimoto (BRA), Keri-Anne Payne (GBR), Angela Maurer (GER), Marianna Lymperta (GRE), Martina Grimaldi (ITA), Swann Oberson (SUI).
Entry in the Olympic programme: 2008
Olympic medallists: Men – Maarten Van der Weijden (NED, G), David Davies (GBR, S), Thomas Lurz (GER, B).
Women – Larissa Ilchenko (RUS, G), Keri-Anne Payne (GBR, S), Cassandra Patten (GBR, B).

DIVING

Dates: July 29-August 11, 2012
Events: For Men and Women (8) – 3m springboard, 10m platform, 3m springboard synchro, 10m platform synchro
Venue: Aquatics Centre, 17,500 seats
Number of athletes: 136
Athletes/countries to follow: Men – Matthew Mitcham (AUS), Alexandre Despatie (CAN), Chong He, Yutong Luo, Kai Qin (CHN), Jose Guerra Oliva (CUB), Tom Daley (GBR), Yahel Castillo, Ivan Garcia, German Sanchez (MEX), Evgeny Kuznetsov, Victor Minibaev, Ilya Zakharov (RUS), Oleksandr Bondar, Illya Kvasha (UKR), David Boudia, Troy Dumais (USA). Women – Sharleen Stratton, Melissa Wu (AUS), Jennifer Abel, Emilie Heymans (CAN), Ruolin Chen, Zi He, Yadan Hu, Minxia Wu (CHN), Tania Cagnotto (ITA), Pandelela Rinong (MAS), Paola Espinosa (MEX), Abigail Johnston, Kelci Bryant (USA).
Entry in the Olympic programme: 1904
Most decorated athletes: Men – Greg Louganis (USA, 4G, 1S), Klaus Dibiasi (ITA, 3G, 2S), Xiong Ni (CHN, 3G, 1S, 1B).
Women – Jingjing Guo (CHN, 4G, 2S), Fu Mingxia (CHN, 4G, 1S), Patricia McCormick (USA, 4G), Ingrid Kraemer-Engel (GDR, 3G, 1S), Minxia Wu (CHN, 2G, 1S, 1B), Yulia Pakhalina (RUS, 1G, 3S, 1B).

WATER POLO

Dates: July 29-August 12, 2012
Events: Men’s Tournament (12 teams) and Women’s Tournament (8 teams)
Venue: Water Polo Arena, 5,000 seats
Number of athletes: 260
Participating countries: Men – Australia, Croatia, Spain, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, United States of America. Women – Australia, China, Spain, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Russia, United States of America.
Teams to follow: Men – Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Serbia, USA.
Women – Australia, China, Italy, Russia, USA.
Entry in the Olympic programme: 1900 (for Men), 2000 (for Women)
Teams with Olympic title: Men – Hungary (9), Great Britain (4), Italy (3), Serbia (incl. SCG/YUG, 3), Soviet Union (2), France (1), Germany (1), Spain (1), USA (1).
Women – Australia (2000), Italy (2004), Netherlands (2008)

SYNCHRONISED SWIMMING

Dates: August 5-10, 2012
Events: For Women (2) – Duet (24) and Team (8)
Venue: Aquatics Centre, 17,500 seats
Number of athletes: 104
Participating Duets: ARG, AUS, AUT, BRA, CAN, CHN, CZE, EGY, ESP, FRA, GBR, GRE, HUN, ISR, ITA, JPN, KAZ, KOR, MEX, PRK, RUS, SUI, UKR, USA.
Participating Teams: AUS, CAN, CHN, EGY, ESP, GBR, JPN, RUS.
Countries to follow: Canada, China, Spain, Japan, Russia.
Entry in the Olympic programme: 1984
Most decorated athletes: Anastasia Davydova (RUS, 4G), Anastasia Ermakova (4G), Olga Brusnikina (RUS, 3G), Maria Kisseleva (3G), Tracie Ruiz-Conforto (USA, 2G, 1S), Carolyn Waldo (CAN, 2G, 1S).