Water polo at the World Aquatics Championships

Sport	Water polo
Founded	1973 (men) 1986 (women)
Continent	International (FINA)
Most recent champion(s)	Italy (men)  United States (women)
Most titles	Italy (men; 4 titles)  United States (women; 6 titles)

Water polo at the World Aquatics Championships is an international water polo tournament held every two years as part of the FINA World Aquatics Championships.^[1] The reigning champions are Italy in men's and the United States in women's competition.^[2]

Events

Men's tournament

Results summary

Year[1]	Host	Gold	Score	Silver	Bronze	Score	4th place
1973 Details	Belgrade, Yugoslavia	Hungary	Round-robin (5–4)	Soviet Union	Yugoslavia	Round-robin (4–5)	Italy
1975 Details	Cali, Colombia	Soviet Union	Round-robin (5–4)	Hungary	Italy	Round-robin (4–4)	Cuba
1978 Details	West Berlin, West Germany	Italy	Round-robin (4–4)	Hungary	Yugoslavia	Round-robin (6–4)	Soviet Union
1982 Details	Guayaquil, Ecuador	Soviet Union	Round-robin (7–7)	Hungary	West Germany	Round-robin (5–3)	Netherlands
1986 Details	Madrid, Spain	Yugoslavia	12–11 (4 OT)	Italy	Soviet Union	8–6 (2 OT)	United States
1991 Details	Perth, Australia	Yugoslavia	8–7	Spain	Hungary	13–12	United States
1994 Details	Rome, Italy	Italy	10–5	Spain	Russia	14–13 (OT)	Croatia
1998 Details	Perth, Australia	Spain	6–4	Hungary	FR Yugoslavia	9–5	Australia
2001 Details	Fukuoka, Japan	Spain	4–2	FR Yugoslavia	Russia	7–6	Italy
2003 Details	Barcelona, Spain	Hungary	11–9 (OT)	Italy	Serbia and Montenegro	5–3	Greece
2005 Details	Montreal, Canada	Serbia and Montenegro	8–7	Hungary	Greece	11–10 (OT)	Croatia
2007 Details	Melbourne, Australia	Croatia	9–8 (OT)	Hungary	Spain	9–9 (OT) (9–8 pen.)	Serbia
2009 Details	Rome, Italy	Serbia	7–7 (OT) (7–6 pen.)	Spain	Croatia	8–6	United States
2011 Details	Shanghai, China	Italy	8–7 (OT)	Serbia	Croatia	12–11	Hungary
2013 Details	Barcelona, Spain	Hungary	8–7	Montenegro	Croatia	10–8	Italy
2015 Details	Kazan, Russia	Serbia	11–4	Croatia	Greece	7–7 (4–2 pen.)	Italy
2017 Details	Budapest, Hungary	Croatia	8–6	Hungary	Serbia	11–8	Greece
2019 Details	Gwangju, South Korea	Italy	10–5	Spain	Croatia	10–7	Hungary
2022 Details	Budapest, Hungary
2023 Details	Fukuoka, Japan
2024 Details	Doha, Qatar
2025 Details	Kazan, Russia
2027 Details	Budapest, Hungary

Confederation statistics

Best performances by tournament

This is a summary of the best performances of each confederation in each tournament.^[1]

Legend

Team statistics

Participating teams

Note: Results of qualification tournaments are not included.

Legend

Africa – CANA (2 teams)
Men's team[1]	1973	1975	1978	1982	1986	1991	1994	1998	2001	2003	2005	2007	2009	2011	2013	2015	2017	2019	2022	Years
Egypt				15th		15th														2
South Africa							15th	14th			15th	14th	15th	16th	15th	12th	16th	12th	Q	11
Americas – ASUA (7 teams)
Men's team[1]	1973	1975	1978	1982	1986	1991	1994	1998	2001	2003	2005	2007	2009	2011	2013	2015	2017	2019	2022	Years
Argentina																16th				1
Brazil					12th			12th	13th	13th			13th	14th		10th	12th	13th	Q	10
Canada		14th	14th	14th	13th	13th	14th	13th	15th	14th	13th	12th	8th	10th	11th	9th	15th		WD	17
Colombia		16th																		1
Cuba	6th	4th	10th	5th	7th	11th	11th				12th									8
Mexico	9th	9th	15th																	3
United States	5th	8th	5th	6th	4th	4th	6th	7th	7th	6th	11th	9th	4th	6th	9th	7th	13th	9th	Q	19
Asia – AASF (5 teams)
Men's team[1]	1973	1975	1978	1982	1986	1991	1994	1998	2001	2003	2005	2007	2009	2011	2013	2015	2017	2019	2022	Years
China				10th		14th				16th	16th	13th	12th	15th	14th	15th				9
Iran		15th						15th												2
Japan									16th	15th	14th	16th		11th		13th	10th	11th	Q	9
Kazakhstan	Part of Soviet Union						12th	11th	12th				16th	13th	12th	11th	11th	14th	Q	10
South Korea																		15th		1
Europe – LEN (22 teams)
Men's team[1]	1973	1975	1978	1982	1986	1991	1994	1998	2001	2003	2005	2007	2009	2011	2013	2015	2017	2019	2022	Years
Bulgaria	13th	12th	8th																	3
Croatia	Part of Yugoslavia						4th	9th	8th	9th	4th	1st	3rd	3rd	3rd	2nd	1st	3rd	Q	13
France				13th	8th	12th											14th			4
Georgia																			Q	1
Germany	See West Germany					5th	9th		14th	11th	9th	8th	6th	8th	10th			8th	Q	11
Great Britain	15th																			1
Greece	12th		12th	12th	11th	10th	7th	8th	6th	4th	3rd	6th			6th	3rd	4th	7th	Q	16
Hungary	1st	2nd	2nd	2nd	9th	3rd	5th	2nd	5th	1st	2nd	2nd	5th	4th	1st	6th	2nd	4th	Q	19
Israel	16th		16th		15th															3
Italy	4th	3rd	1st	9th	2nd	6th	1st	5th	4th	2nd	8th	5th	11th	1st	4th	4th	6th	1st	Q	19
North Macedonia	Part of Yugoslavia												14th							1
Montenegro	Part of Yugoslavia						Part of SCG / FRY						9th	7th	2nd	5th	5th	10th	Q	7
Men's team	1973	1975	1978	1982	1986	1991	1994	1998	2001	2003	2005	2007	2009	2011	2013	2015	2017	2019	2022	Years
Netherlands	8th	7th	13th	4th	14th		8th		9th											7
Romania	7th	5th	6th			9th	13th			12th	6th	11th	7th	12th	13th					11
Russia	Part of Soviet Union						3rd	6th	3rd	10th	7th	7th				14th	8th		DQ	8
Serbia	Part of Yugoslavia						Part of SCG / FRY					4th	1st	2nd	7th	1st	3rd	5th	Q	8
Serbia and Montenegro†	Part of Yugoslavia						See FRY			3rd	1st	Defunct								2
Slovakia	Part of Czechoslovakia							10th	11th	8th										3
Soviet Union†	2nd	1st	4th	1st	3rd	7th	Defunct													6
Spain	10th	10th	11th	8th	5th	2nd	2nd	1st	1st	5th	5th	3rd	2nd	5th	5th		9th	2nd	Q	18
West Germany†	11th	6th	7th	3rd	6th	See Germany														5
Yugoslavia†	3rd	13th	3rd	7th	1st	1st	Defunct													6
FR Yugoslavia†[a]	Part of Yugoslavia							3rd	2nd	See SCG		Defunct								2
Oceania – OSA (2 teams)
Men's team[1]	1973	1975	1978	1982	1986	1991	1994	1998	2001	2003	2005	2007	2009	2011	2013	2015	2017	2019	2022	Years
Australia	14th	11th	9th	11th	10th	8th	10th	4th	10th	7th	10th	10th	10th	9th	8th	8th	7th	6th	Q	19
New Zealand				16th		16th	16th	16th				15th			16th			16th		7
Total teams	16	16	16	16	15	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16

Finishes in the top four

The following table is pre-sorted by total finishes in the top four (in descending order), number of gold medals (in descending order), number of silver medals (in descending order), number of bronze medals (in descending order), name of the team (in ascending order), respectively.

Legend

• ^* – Host team
• ^† – Defunct team

Rk	Men's team[1]	Total	Champions	Runners-up	Third place	Fourth place	First	Last
1	Hungary	13	3 (1973, 2003, 2013)	7 (1975, 1978, 1982, 1998, 2005, 2007, 2017*)	1 (1991)	2 (2011, 2019)	1973	2019
2	Italy	11	4 (1978, 1994*, 2011, 2019)	2 (1986, 2003)	1 (1975)	4 (1973, 2001, 2013, 2015)	1973	2019
3	Croatia	9	2 (2007, 2017)	1 (2015)	4 (2009, 2011, 2013, 2019)	2 (1994, 2005)	1994	2019
4	Spain	7	2 (1998, 2001)	4 (1991, 1994, 2009, 2019)	1 (2007)		1991	2019
5	Serbia	5	2 (2009, 2015)	1 (2011)	1 (2017)	1 (2007)	2007	2017
	Soviet Union†		2 (1975, 1982)	1 (1973)	1 (1986)	1 (1978)	1973	1986
7	Yugoslavia†	4	2 (1986, 1991)		2 (1973*, 1978)		1973	1991
8	Greece	4			2 (2005, 2015)	2 (2003, 2017)	2003	2017
9	United States	3				3 (1986, 1991, 2009)	1986	2009
10	Serbia and Montenegro†	2	1 (2005)		1 (2003)		2003	2005
11	FR Yugoslavia†[a]	2		1 (2001)	1 (1998)		1998	2001
12	Russia	2			2 (1994, 2001)		1994	2001
13	Montenegro	1		1 (2013)			2013	2013
14	West Germany†	1			1 (1982)		1982	1982
15	Australia	1				1 (1998*)	1998	1998
	Cuba					1 (1975)	1975	1975
	Netherlands					1 (1982)	1982	1982
Rk	Men's team	Total	Champions	Runners-up	Third place	Fourth place	First	Last

Medal table

The following table is pre-sorted by number of gold medals (in descending order), number of silver medals (in descending order), number of bronze medals (in descending order), name of the team (in ascending order), respectively.

Legend

• ^† – Defunct team

Rank	Men's team	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Italy	4	2	1	7
2	Hungary	3	7	1	11
3	Spain	2	4	1	7
4	Croatia	2	1	4	7
5	Serbia	2	1	1	4
	Soviet Union†	2	1	1	4
7	Yugoslavia†	2	0	2	4
8	Serbia and Montenegro†	1	0	1	2
9	FR Yugoslavia†[a]	0	1	1	2
10	Montenegro	0	1	0	1
11	Greece	0	0	2	2
	Russia	0	0	2	2
13	West Germany†	0	0	1	1
Totals (13 men's teams)		18	18	18	54

Champions (results and squads)

The following table shows results of world champions in men's water polo by tournament.

Legend

Abbreviation

Results of champions by tournament

#	Men's tournament	Champion	MP	W	D	L	Win %	GF	GA	GD	GF/MP	GA/MP	GD/MP
1	Belgrade 1973	Hungary (1st title)	8	7	1	0	87.5%	58	24	34	7.250	3.000	4.250
2	Cali 1975	Soviet Union† (1st title)	8	6	2	0	75.0%	49	26	23	6.125	3.250	2.875
3	West Berlin 1978	Italy (1st title)	8	5	3	0	62.5%	41	31	10	5.125	3.875	1.250
4	Guayaquil 1982	Soviet Union† (2nd title)	7	6	1	0	85.7%	68	41	27	9.714	5.857	3.857
5	Madrid 1986	Yugoslavia† (1st title)	6	5	1	0	83.3%	61	43	18	10.167	7.167	3.000
6	Perth 1991	Yugoslavia† (2nd title)	7	6	0	1	85.7%	81	46	35	11.571	6.571	5.000
7	Rome 1994	Italy (2nd title)	7	7	0	0	100.0%	65	39	26	9.286	5.571	3.714
8	Perth 1998	Spain (1st title)	8	8	0	0	100.0%	65	35	30	8.125	4.375	3.750
9	Fukuoka 2001	Spain (2nd title)	8	8	0	0	100.0%	63	27	36	7.875	3.375	4.500
10	Barcelona 2003	Hungary (2nd title)	6	5	1	0	83.3%	62	37	25	10.333	6.167	4.167
11	Montreal 2005	Serbia and Montenegro† (1st title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%	69	29	40	11.500	4.833	6.667
12	Melbourne 2007	Croatia (1st title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%	65	40	25	10.833	6.667	4.167
13	Rome 2009	Serbia (1st title)	7	5	1	1	71.4%	80	60	20	11.429	8.571	2.857
14	Shanghai 2011	Italy (3rd title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%	59	33	26	9.833	5.500	4.333
15	Barcelona 2013	Hungary (3rd title)	7	5	1	1	71.4%	76	54	22	10.857	7.714	3.143
16	Kazan 2015	Serbia (2nd title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%	73	43	30	12.167	7.167	5.000
17	Budapest 2017	Croatia (2nd title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%	70	47	23	11.667	7.833	3.833
18	Gwangju 2019	Italy (4th title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%	60	40	20	10.000	6.667	3.333
#	Men's tournament	Total	123	109	11	3	88.6%	1165	695	470	9.472	5.650	3.821
		Champion	MP	W	D	L	Win %	GF	GA	GD	GF/MP	GA/MP	GD/MP

Sources:

• Official Reports (FINA) (PDF): "World Championship" (p. 15);
• Todor66: "Men's Water Polo World Championship".

The following table shows men's teams that won all matches during the tournament.

Winning all matches during the tournament

#	Year	Champion	MP	W	D	L	Win %
1	1994	Italy (2nd title)	7	7	0	0	100.0%
2	1998	Spain (1st title)	8	8	0	0	100.0%
3	2001	Spain (2nd title)	8	8	0	0	100.0%
4	2005	Serbia and Montenegro† (1st title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%
5	2007	Croatia (1st title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%
6	2011	Italy (3rd title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%
7	2015	Serbia (2nd title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%
8	2017	Croatia (2nd title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%
9	2019	Italy (4th title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%
#	Year	Champion	MP	W	D	L	Win %

The following tables show records of goals for per match.

Top 5 most goals for per match Rk Year Champion MP GF GF/MP 1 2015  Serbia (2nd title) 6 73 12.167 2 2017  Croatia (2nd title) 6 70 11.667 3 1991  Yugoslavia† (2nd title) 7 81 11.571 4 2005  Serbia and Montenegro† (1st title) 6 69 11.500 5 2009  Serbia (1st title) 7 80 11.429

Top 5 fewest goals for per match Rk Year Champion MP GF GF/MP 1 1978  Italy (1st title) 8 41 5.125 2 1975  Soviet Union† (1st title) 8 49 6.125 3 1973  Hungary (1st title) 8 58 7.250 4 2001  Spain (2nd title) 8 63 7.875 5 1998  Spain (1st title) 8 65 8.125

Historical progression of records – goals for per match

Goals for per match	Achievement	Year	Champion	Date of winning gold	Duration of record
7.250	Set record	1973	Hungary (1st title)	9 September 1973	8 years, 332 days
9.714	Broke record	1982	Soviet Union† (2nd title)	7 August 1982	4 years, 15 days
10.167	Broke record	1986	Yugoslavia† (1st title)	22 August 1986	4 years, 144 days
11.571	Broke record	1991	Yugoslavia† (2nd title)	13 January 1991	24 years, 207 days
12.167	Broke record	2015	Serbia (2nd title)	8 August 2015	6 years, 321 days

The following tables show records of goals against per match.

Top 5 most goals against per match Rk Year Champion MP GA GA/MP 1 2009  Serbia (1st title) 7 60 8.571 2 2017  Croatia (2nd title) 6 47 7.833 3 2013  Hungary (3rd title) 7 54 7.714 4 1986  Yugoslavia† (1st title) 6 43 7.167 2015  Serbia (2nd title) 6 43 7.167

Top 5 fewest goals against per match Rk Year Champion MP GA GA/MP 1 1973  Hungary (1st title) 8 24 3.000 2 1975  Soviet Union† (1st title) 8 26 3.250 3 2001  Spain (2nd title) 8 27 3.375 4 1978  Italy (1st title) 8 31 3.875 5 1998  Spain (1st title) 8 35 4.375

The following tables show records of goals difference per match.

Top 5 most goals difference per match Rk Year Champion MP GD GD/MP 1 2005  Serbia and Montenegro† (1st title) 6 40 6.667 2 1991  Yugoslavia† (2nd title) 7 35 5.000 2015  Serbia (2nd title) 6 30 5.000 4 2001  Spain (2nd title) 8 36 4.500 5 2011  Italy (3rd title) 6 26 4.333

Top 5 fewest goals difference per match Rk Year Champion MP GD GD/MP 1 1978  Italy (1st title) 8 10 1.250 2 2009  Serbia (1st title) 7 20 2.857 3 1975  Soviet Union† (1st title) 8 23 2.875 4 1986  Yugoslavia† (1st title) 6 18 3.000 5 2013  Hungary (3rd title) 7 22 3.143

Player statistics

Multiple gold medalists

The following table is pre-sorted by number of gold medals (in descending order), number of silver medals (in descending order), number of bronze medals (in descending order), date of receiving the last gold medal (in ascending order), date of receiving the first gold medal (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively.

Serbian player Slobodan Nikić is the first and only male athlete to win three gold medals in water polo at the World Aquatics Championships.^[3]

There are twenty-eight male athletes who won two gold medals in water polo at the World Aquatics Championships.

Legend

•     – Hosts

Male athletes who won three or more gold medals in water polo at the World Aquatics Championships

Rk	Player	Birth	Height	Men's team	Pos	Water polo tournament							Period (age of first/last)	Medals				Ref
														G	S	B	T
1	Slobodan Nikić	1983	1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)	Serbia and Montenegro	FP	2003	2005	Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	12 years (20/32)	3	1	1	5	[3]
				Serbia		Does not appear	Does not appear	2007	2009	2011	2013	2015

Multiple medalists

The following table is pre-sorted by total number of medals (in descending order), number of gold medals (in descending order), number of silver medals (in descending order), date of receiving the last medal (in ascending order), date of receiving the first medal (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively.

Five male athletes won five or more medals in water polo at the World Aquatics Championships. Aside from Serbian water polo player Slobodan Nikić who won five medals,^[3] all were members of the Croatia men's national water polo team. Andro Bušlje is the first and only athlete (man or woman) to win seven medals in water polo at the World Aquatics Championships (two gold, one silver and four bronze).^[4]

Legend

•     – Hosts

Male athletes who won five or more medals in water polo at the World Aquatics Championships

Rk	Player	Birth	Height	Men's team	Pos	Water polo tournament								Period (age of first/last)	Medals				Ref
															G	S	B	T
1	Andro Bušlje	1986	2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)	Croatia	FP	2005	2007	2009	2011	2013	2015	2017	2019	14 years (19/33)	2	1	4	7	[4]
2	Maro Joković	1987	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	Croatia	FP	2007	Does not appear	2011	2013	2015	2017	2019	Does not appear	12 years (19/31)	2	1	3	6	[5]
3	Slobodan Nikić	1983	1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)	Serbia and Montenegro	FP	2003	2005	Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	12 years (20/32)	3	1	1	5	[3]
				Serbia		Does not appear	Does not appear	2007	2009	2011	2013	2015	Does not appear
4	Josip Pavić	1982	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)	Croatia	GK	2001	Does not appear	2005	2007	2009	2011	2013	2015	14 years (19/33)	1	1	3	5	[6]
	Sandro Sukno	1990	2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)	Croatia	FP	2009	2011	2013	2015	2017	Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	8 years (19/27)	1	1	3	5	[7]
Rk	Player	Birth	Height	Men's team	Pos	Water polo tournament								Period (age of first/last)	G	S	B	T	Ref
															Medals

Women's tournament

Results summary

Year[1]	Host	Gold	Score	Silver	Bronze	Score	4th place
1986 Details	Madrid, Spain	Australia	Round-robin (8–7)	Netherlands	United States	Round-robin (7–7)	Canada
1991 Details	Perth, Australia	Netherlands	13–6	Canada	United States	11–9	Hungary
1994 Details	Rome, Italy	Hungary	7–5	Netherlands	Italy	14–9	United States
1998 Details	Perth, Australia	Italy	7–6	Netherlands	Australia	8–5	Russia
2001 Details	Fukuoka, Japan	Italy	7–3	Hungary	Canada	6–5	United States
2003 Details	Barcelona, Spain	United States	8–6	Italy	Russia	9–7	Canada
2005 Details	Montreal, Canada	Hungary	10–7 (OT)	United States	Canada	8–3	Russia
2007 Details	Melbourne, Australia	United States	6–5	Australia	Russia	9–8	Hungary
2009 Details	Rome, Italy	United States	7–6	Canada	Russia	10–9	Greece
2011 Details	Shanghai, China	Greece	9–8	China	Russia	8–7	Italy
2013 Details	Barcelona, Spain	Spain	8–6	Australia	Hungary	10–8	Russia
2015 Details	Kazan, Russia	United States	5–4	Netherlands	Italy	7–7 (5–3 pen.)	Australia
2017 Details	Budapest, Hungary	United States	13–6	Spain	Russia	11–9	Canada
2019 Details	Gwangju, South Korea	United States	11–6	Spain	Australia	10–9	Hungary
2022 Details	Budapest, Hungary

Confederation statistics

Best performances by tournament

This is a summary of the best performances of each confederation in each tournament.^[1]

Legend

Team statistics

Participating teams

Note: Results of qualification tournaments are not included.

Legend

Africa – CANA (1 team)
Women's team[1]	1986	1991	1994	1998	2001	2003	2005	2007	2009	2011	2013	2015	2017	2019	2022	Years
South Africa									16th	15th	15th	16th	16th	14th	Q	7
Americas – ASUA (6 teams)
Women's team[1]	1986	1991	1994	1998	2001	2003	2005	2007	2009	2011	2013	2015	2017	2019	2022	Years
Argentina															Q	1
Brazil		8th	11th	10th	10th	13th	13th	10th	13th	14th	14th	10th	14th		Q	13
Canada	4th	2nd	5th	6th	3rd	4th	3rd	6th	2nd	8th	8th	11th	4th	9th	Q	15
Colombia															Q	1
Cuba							9th	15th		10th				15th		4
Puerto Rico								16th								1
United States	3rd	3rd	4th	8th	4th	1st	2nd	1st	1st	6th	5th	1st	1st	1st	Q	15
Venezuela						14th	14th									2
Asia – AASF (5 teams)
Women's team[1]	1986	1991	1994	1998	2001	2003	2005	2007	2009	2011	2013	2015	2017	2019	2022	Years
China							16th	14th	11th	2nd	9th	5th	10th	11th	WD	8
Japan					11th	11th						15th	13th	13th	WD	5
Kazakhstan	Part of URS		12th	12th	8th	12th		13th	14th	13th	11th	12th	15th	10th	Q	12
South Korea														16th		1
Thailand															Q	1
Uzbekistan	Part of URS						15th		15th	16th	16th					4
Europe – LEN (12 teams)
Women's team[1]	1986	1991	1994	1998	2001	2003	2005	2007	2009	2011	2013	2015	2017	2019	2022	Years
Belgium	7th															1
France		9th	9th			15th						14th	11th		Q	6
Germany	FRG	6th	8th			10th	8th	11th	10th							6
Great Britain	9th					16th					13th					3
Greece				5th	7th	9th	5th	8th	4th	1st	6th	6th	7th	8th	Q	12
Hungary	5th	4th	1st	7th	2nd	5th	1st	4th	7th	9th	3rd	9th	5th	4th	Q	15
Italy			3rd	1st	1st	2nd	7th	5th	9th	4th	10th	3rd	6th	6th	Q	13
Netherlands	2nd	1st	2nd	2nd	9th	6th	10th	9th	5th	7th	7th	2nd	9th	7th	Q	15
Norway	8th															1
Russia	Part of URS		7th	4th	6th	3rd	4th	3rd	3rd	3rd	4th	8th	3rd	5th	DQ	12
Spain				9th		8th	11th	7th	8th	11th	1st	7th	2nd	2nd	Q	11
West Germany†	6th	See Germany														1
Oceania – OSA (2 teams)
Women's team[1]	1986	1991	1994	1998	2001	2003	2005	2007	2009	2011	2013	2015	2017	2019	2022	Years
Australia	1st	5th	6th	3rd	5th	7th	6th	2nd	6th	5th	2nd	4th	8th	3rd	Q	15
New Zealand		7th	10th	11th	12th		12th	12th	12th	12th	12th	13th	12th	12th	Q	13
Total teams	9	9	12	12	12	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16

Finishes in the top four

The following table is pre-sorted by total finishes in the top four (in descending order), number of gold medals (in descending order), number of silver medals (in descending order), number of bronze medals (in descending order), name of the team (in ascending order), respectively.

Legend

• ^* – Host team

Rk	Women's team[1]	Total	Champions	Runners-up	Third place	Fourth place	First	Last
1	United States	11	6 (2003, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2017, 2019)	1 (2005)	2 (1986, 1991)	2 (1994, 2001)	1986	2019
2	Russia	8			5 (2003, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2017)	3 (1998, 2005, 2013)	1998	2017
3	Hungary	7	2 (1994, 2005)	1 (2001)	1 (2013)	3 (1991, 2007, 2019)	1991	2019
4	Canada	7		2 (1991, 2009)	2 (2001, 2005*)	3 (1986, 2003, 2017)	1986	2017
5	Italy	6	2 (1998, 2001)	1 (2003)	2 (1994*, 2015)	1 (2011)	1994	2015
6	Australia	6	1 (1986)	2 (2007*, 2013)	2 (1998*, 2019)	1 (2015)	1986	2019
7	Netherlands	5	1 (1991)	4 (1986, 1994, 1998, 2015)			1986	2015
8	Spain	3	1 (2013*)	2 (2017, 2019)			2013	2019
9	Greece	2	1 (2011)			1 (2009)	2009	2011
10	China	1		1 (2011*)			2011	2011
Rk	Women's team	Total	Champions	Runners-up	Third place	Fourth place	First	Last

Medal table

The following table is pre-sorted by number of gold medals (in descending order), number of silver medals (in descending order), number of bronze medals (in descending order), name of the team (in ascending order), respectively.

Rank	Women's team	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	6	1	2	9
2	Italy	2	1	2	5
3	Hungary	2	1	1	4
4	Netherlands	1	4	0	5
5	Australia	1	2	2	5
6	Spain	1	2	0	3
7	Greece	1	0	0	1
8	Canada	0	2	2	4
9	China	0	1	0	1
10	Russia	0	0	5	5
Totals (10 women's teams)		14	14	14	42

Champions (results and squads)

The following table shows results of world champions in women's water polo by tournament.

Legend

Abbreviation

Results of champions by tournament

#	Women's tournament	Champion	MP	W	D	L	Win %	GF	GA	GD	GF/MP	GA/MP	GD/MP
1	Madrid 1986	Australia (1st title)	7	7	0	0	100.0%	83	36	47	11.857	5.143	6.714
2	Perth 1991	Netherlands (1st title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%	71	47	24	11.833	7.833	4.000
3	Rome 1994	Hungary (1st title)	7	6	0	1	85.7%	55	38	17	7.857	5.429	2.429
4	Perth 1998	Italy (1st title)	8	5	0	3	62.5%	77	57	20	9.625	7.125	2.500
5	Fukuoka 2001	Italy (2nd title)	8	6	1	1	75.0%	77	45	32	9.625	5.625	4.000
6	Barcelona 2003	United States (1st title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%	62	31	31	10.333	5.167	5.167
7	Montreal 2005	Hungary (2nd title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%	64	35	29	10.667	5.833	4.833
8	Melbourne 2007	United States (2nd title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%	56	38	18	9.333	6.333	3.000
9	Rome 2009	United States (3rd title)	7	6	0	1	85.7%	77	53	24	11.000	7.571	3.429
10	Shanghai 2011	Greece (1st title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%	62	51	11	10.333	8.500	1.833
11	Barcelona 2013	Spain (1st title)	6	5	0	1	83.3%	88	53	35	14.667	8.833	5.833
12	Kazan 2015	United States (4th title)	7	6	0	1	85.7%	72	36	36	10.286	5.143	5.143
13	Budapest 2017	United States (5th title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%	92	37	55	15.333	6.167	9.167
14	Gwangju 2019	United States (6th title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%	93	26	67	15.500	4.333	11.167
#	Women's tournament	Total	92	83	1	8	90.2%	1029	583	446	11.185	6.337	4.848
		Champion	MP	W	D	L	Win %	GF	GA	GD	GF/MP	GA/MP	GD/MP

Sources:

• Official Reports (FINA) (PDF): "World Championship" (p. 57);
• Todor66: "Women's Water Polo World Championship".

The following table shows women's teams that won all matches during the tournament.

Winning all matches during the tournament

#	Year	Champion	MP	W	D	L	Win %
1	1986	Australia (1st title)	7	7	0	0	100.0%
2	1991	Netherlands (1st title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%
3	2003	United States (1st title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%
4	2005	Hungary (2nd title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%
5	2007	United States (2nd title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%
6	2011	Greece (1st title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%
7	2017	United States (5th title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%
8	2019	United States (6th title)	6	6	0	0	100.0%
#	Year	Champion	MP	W	D	L	Win %

The following tables show records of goals for per match.

Top 5 most goals for per match Rk Year Champion MP GF GF/MP 1 2019  United States (6th title) 6 93 15.500 2 2017  United States (5th title) 6 92 15.333 3 2013  Spain (1st title) 6 88 14.667 4 1986  Australia (1st title) 7 83 11.857 5 1991  Netherlands (1st title) 6 71 11.833

Top 5 fewest goals for per match Rk Year Champion MP GF GF/MP 1 1994  Hungary (1st title) 7 55 7.857 2 2007  United States (2nd title) 6 56 9.333 3 1998  Italy (1st title) 8 77 9.625 2001  Italy (2nd title) 8 77 9.625 5 2015  United States (4th title) 7 72 10.286

Historical progression of records – goals for per match

Goals for per match	Achievement	Year	Champion	Date of winning gold	Duration of record
11.857	Set record	1986	Australia (1st title)	22 August 1986	26 years, 345 days
14.667	Broke record	2013	Spain (1st title)	2 August 2013	3 years, 360 days
15.333	Broke record	2017	United States (5th title)	28 July 2017	1 year, 363 days
15.500	Broke record	2019	United States (6th title)	26 July 2019	2 years, 334 days

The following tables show records of goals against per match.

Top 5 most goals against per match Rk Year Champion MP GA GA/MP 1 2013  Spain (1st title) 6 53 8.833 2 2011  Greece (1st title) 6 51 8.500 3 1991  Netherlands (1st title) 6 47 7.833 4 2009  United States (3rd title) 7 53 7.571 5 1998  Italy (1st title) 8 57 7.125

Top 5 fewest goals against per match Rk Year Champion MP GA GA/MP 1 2019  United States (6th title) 6 26 4.333 2 1986  Australia (1st title) 7 36 5.143 2015  United States (4th title) 7 36 5.143 4 2003  United States (1st title) 6 31 5.167 5 1994  Hungary (1st title) 7 38 5.429

The following tables show records of goals difference per match.

Top 5 most goals difference per match Rk Year Champion MP GD GD/MP 1 2019  United States (6th title) 6 67 11.167 2 2017  United States (5th title) 6 55 9.167 3 1986  Australia (1st title) 7 47 6.714 4 2013  Spain (1st title) 6 35 5.833 5 2003  United States (1st title) 6 31 5.167

Top 5 fewest goals difference per match Rk Year Champion MP GD GD/MP 1 2011  Greece (1st title) 6 11 1.833 2 1994  Hungary (1st title) 7 17 2.429 3 1998  Italy (1st title) 8 20 2.500 4 2007  United States (2nd title) 6 18 3.000 5 2009  United States (3rd title) 7 24 3.429

Player statistics

Multiple gold medalists

The following table is pre-sorted by number of gold medals (in descending order), number of silver medals (in descending order), number of bronze medals (in descending order), date of receiving the last gold medal (in ascending order), date of receiving the first gold medal (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively.

Ten female athletes won three or more gold medals in water polo at the World Aquatics Championships. They were all members of the United States women's national water polo team.

There are twenty-four female athletes who won two gold medals in water polo at the World Aquatics Championships.

Legend

•     – Hosts

Female athletes who won three or more gold medals in water polo at the World Aquatics Championships

Rk	Player	Birth	Height	Women's team	Pos	Water polo tournament							Period (age of first/last)	Medals				Ref
														G	S	B	T
1	Heather Petri	1978	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	United States	FP	2001	2003	2005	2007	2009	2011	Does not appear	10 years (23/33)	3	1	0	4	[8]
	Brenda Villa	1980	1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)	United States	FP	1998	2001	2003	2005	2007	2009	2011	13 years (17/31)	3	1	0	4	[9]
3	Kami Craig	1987	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)	United States	FP	2007	2009	2011	2013	2015	Does not appear	Does not appear	8 years (19/28)	3	0	0	3	[10]
	Rachel Fattal	1993	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	United States	FP	2013	2015	2017	2019	Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	6 years (19/25)	3	0	0	3	[11]
	Makenzie Fischer	1997	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	United States	FP	2015	2017	2019	Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	4 years (18/22)	3	0	0	3	[12]
	Maddie Musselman	1998	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)	United States	FP	2015	2017	2019	Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	4 years (17/21)	3	0	0	3	[13]
	Kiley Neushul	1993	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	United States	FP	2013	2015	2017	2019	Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	6 years (20/26)	3	0	0	3	[14]
	Melissa Seidemann	1990	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	United States	FP	2011	2013	2015	2017	2019	Does not appear	Does not appear	8 years (21/29)	3	0	0	3	[15]
	Maggie Steffens	1993	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	United States	FP	2011	2013	2015	2017	2019	Does not appear	Does not appear	8 years (18/26)	3	0	0	3	[16]
	Alys Williams	1994	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)	United States	FP	2015	2017	2019	Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	4 years (21/25)	3	0	0	3
Rk	Player	Birth	Height	Women's team	Pos	Water polo tournament							Period (age of first/last)	G	S	B	T	Ref
														Medals

Multiple medalists

The following table is pre-sorted by total number of medals (in descending order), number of gold medals (in descending order), number of silver medals (in descending order), date of receiving the last medal (in ascending order), date of receiving the first medal (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively.

Eight female athletes won four medals in water polo at the World Aquatics Championships.

Legend

•     – Hosts