# Water polo at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament

The women's tournament of Water polo at the 2016 Summer Olympics at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, began on 9 August and ended on 19 August 2016. Games were held at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre and the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.
The United States won the gold medal by defeating Italy 12–5 in the final. Russia captured bronze, beating Hungary 19–18.

## Competition schedule

| G | Group stage | QF | Quarter-finals | SF | Semi-finals | B | Bronze medal match | F | Final |
| Tue 9 | Wed 10 | Thu 11 | Fri 12 | Sat 13 | Sun 14 | Mon 15 | Tue 16 | Wed 17 | Thu 18 | Fri 19 | Fri 19 |
| G | | G | | G | | QF | | SF | | B | F |

## Qualification

| Qualification | Date | Host | Berths | Qualified |
| Host nation | 2 October 2009 | Copenhagen | 1 | Brazil |
| Oceanian Continental Selection | 19 October 2015 | Perth | 1 | Australia |
| 2015 Asian Championship | 16–17 December 2015 | Foshan | 1 | China |
| 2016 European Championships | 10–22 January 2016 | Belgrade | 1 | Hungary |
| World Qualification Tournament | 21–28 March 2016 | Gouda | 4 | United States |
| World Qualification Tournament | 21–28 March 2016 | Gouda | 4 | Italy |
| World Qualification Tournament | 21–28 March 2016 | Gouda | 4 | Russia |
| World Qualification Tournament | 21–28 March 2016 | Gouda | 4 | Spain |
| Total | | | 8 | |

## Draw

The draw was held on 10 April 2016.
Teams from eight nations compete in the tournament and were seeded into two groups for the preliminary round.

### Seeding

The seeding was announced on 10 April 2016.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
| Hungary Australia | United States Italy | Russia China | Spain Brazil |

## Referees

The following referees were selected for the tournament.
* German Moller
* Daniel Flahive
* Mark Koganov
* Fabio Toffoli
* Marie-Claude Deslières
* Ni Shi Wei
* Nenad Peris
* Hatem Gaber
* Benjamin Mercier
* Georgios Stavridis
* Péter Molnár
* Masoud Rezvani
* Fillippo Gomez
* Tadao Tahara
* Stanko Ivanovski
* Diana Dutilh-Dumas
* Radosław Koryzna
* Adrian Alexandrescu
* Sergey Naumov
* Vojin Putniković
* Boris Margeta
* Dion Willis
* Francesc Buch
* Joseph Peila

## Preliminary round
### Group A

All times are BRT (UTC-3).
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Italy | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 15 | +12 | 6 | Quarter-finals |
| 2 | Australia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 31 | 15 | +16 | 4 | Quarter-finals |
| 3 | Russia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 31 | −8 | 2 | Quarter-finals |
| 4 | Brazil (H) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 33 | −20 | 0 | Quarter-finals |
| 9 August 2016 10:20 | Report | Italy | 9–3 | Brazil | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Diana Dutilh-Dumas (NED), Dion Willis (RSA) |
| Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Diana Dutilh-Dumas (NED), Dion Willis (RSA) |||
| 9 August 2016 10:20 | Report | Bianconi 3 | Goals | three players 1 | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Diana Dutilh-Dumas (NED), Dion Willis (RSA) |
| 9 August 2016 13:00 | Report | Russia | 4–14 | Australia | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Marie-Claude Deslières (CAN), Adrian Alexandrescu (ROU) |
| Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Marie-Claude Deslières (CAN), Adrian Alexandrescu (ROU) |||
| 9 August 2016 13:00 | Report | Prokofyeva 2 | Goals | Southern 4 | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Marie-Claude Deslières (CAN), Adrian Alexandrescu (ROU) |
| 11 August 2016 09:00 | Report | Russia | 14–7 | Brazil | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Diana Dutilh-Dumas (NED), Tadao Tahara (JPN) |
| Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Diana Dutilh-Dumas (NED), Tadao Tahara (JPN) |||
| 11 August 2016 09:00 | Report | Ivanova, Prokofyeva 3 | Goals | Chiappini 4 | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Diana Dutilh-Dumas (NED), Tadao Tahara (JPN) |
| 11 August 2016 10:20 | Report | Italy | 8–7 | Australia | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Péter Molnár (HUN), Boris Margeta (SLO) |
| Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Péter Molnár (HUN), Boris Margeta (SLO) |||
| 11 August 2016 10:20 | Report | Garibotti 3 | Goals | Southern, Webster 2 | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Péter Molnár (HUN), Boris Margeta (SLO) |
| 13 August 2016 10:20 | Report | Russia | 5–10 | Italy | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Joseph Peila (USA), Adrian Alexandrescu (ROU) |
| Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Joseph Peila (USA), Adrian Alexandrescu (ROU) |||
| 13 August 2016 10:20 | Report | Grineva 2 | Goals | Bianconi 3 | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Joseph Peila (USA), Adrian Alexandrescu (ROU) |
| 13 August 2016 11:40 | Report | Australia | 10–3 | Brazil | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Dion Willis (RSA), Benjamin Mercier (FRA) |
| Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Dion Willis (RSA), Benjamin Mercier (FRA) |||
| 13 August 2016 11:40 | Report | Gofers, Webster 2 | Goals | three players 3 | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Dion Willis (RSA), Benjamin Mercier (FRA) |

### Group B

All times are BRT (UTC-3).
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 14 | +20 | 6 | Quarter-finals |
| 2 | Spain | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 29 | −2 | 4 | Quarter-finals |
| 3 | Hungary | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 29 | 33 | −4 | 2 | Quarter-finals |
| 4 | China | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 23 | 37 | −14 | 0 | Quarter-finals |
| 9 August 2016 09:00 | Report | China | 11–13 | Hungary | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Nenad Peris (CRO), Georgios Stavridis (GRE) |
| Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Nenad Peris (CRO), Georgios Stavridis (GRE) |||
| 9 August 2016 09:00 | Report | Ma Huanhuan, Niu Guannan 3 | Goals | Czigány 4 | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Nenad Peris (CRO), Georgios Stavridis (GRE) |
| 9 August 2016 11:40 | Report | Spain | 4–11 | United States | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Daniel Flahive (AUS), Filippo Gomez (ITA) |
| Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Daniel Flahive (AUS), Filippo Gomez (ITA) |||
| 9 August 2016 11:40 | Report | García 2 | Goals | three players 2 | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Daniel Flahive (AUS), Filippo Gomez (ITA) |
| 11 August 2016 11:40 | Report | China | 4–12 | United States | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Radosław Koryzna (POL), Filippo Gomez (ITA) |
| Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Radosław Koryzna (POL), Filippo Gomez (ITA) |||
| 11 August 2016 11:40 | Report | four players 1 | Goals | Musselman, Steffens 4 | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Radosław Koryzna (POL), Filippo Gomez (ITA) |
| 11 August 2016 13:00 | Report | Spain | 11–10 | Hungary | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Marie-Claude Deslières (CAN), Vojin Putniković (SRB) |
| Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Marie-Claude Deslières (CAN), Vojin Putniković (SRB) |||
| 11 August 2016 13:00 | Report | five players 2 | Goals | Bujka 5 | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Marie-Claude Deslières (CAN), Vojin Putniković (SRB) |
| 13 August 2016 09:00 | Report | China | 8–12 | Spain | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Boris Margeta (SLO), German Moller (ARG) |
| Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Boris Margeta (SLO), German Moller (ARG) |||
| 13 August 2016 09:00 | Report | Zhang Cong 3 | Goals | López 4 | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Boris Margeta (SLO), German Moller (ARG) |
| 13 August 2016 13:00 | Report | Hungary | 6–11 | United States | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Marie-Claude Deslières (CAN), Diana Dutilh-Dumas (NED) |
| Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Marie-Claude Deslières (CAN), Diana Dutilh-Dumas (NED) |||
| 13 August 2016 13:00 | Report | Szűcs 2 | Goals | Steffens 4 | Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Marie-Claude Deslières (CAN), Diana Dutilh-Dumas (NED) |

## Final round
### Final Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Gold medal match | Gold medal match | Gold medal match |
| A1 | Italy | 12 | | | | | | |
| B4 | China | 7 | | | | | | |
| B4 | China | 7 | A3 | Russia | 9 | | | |
| | | | A1 | Italy | 12 | | | |
| A3 | Russia | 12 | A1 | Italy | 12 | | | |
| B2 | Spain | 10 | | | | | | |
| B2 | Spain | 10 | | | | | United States | 12 |
| | | | | | | | Italy | 5 |
| A2 | Australia | 11 | | | | | | | Italy | 5 |
| B3 | Hungary (PSO) | 13 | | | |
| B3 | Hungary (PSO) | 13 | B3 | Hungary | 10 | Bronze medal match | Bronze medal match | Bronze medal match |
| | | | B1 | United States | 14 |
| A4 | Brazil | 3 | B1 | United States | 14 | 4 | Hungary | 18 |
| B1 | United States | 13 | | | | | Russia (PSO) | 19 |

### 5th place bracket

| 5th–8th place classification | 5th–8th place classification | 5th place match | 5th place match |
| Australia | 11 |
| Brazil | 4 | | |
| Brazil | 4 | Australia | 10 |
| | | Spain | 12 |
| Spain | 11 | Spain | 12 |
| China | 6 | | |
| China | 6 | 7th place match | 7th place match |
| | | Brazil | 5 |
| | | China | 10 |

### Quarterfinals

All times are BRT (UTC-3).
| 15 August 2016 14:10 | Report | Brazil | 3–13 | United States | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Diana Dutilh-Dumas (NED), Tadao Tahara (JPN) |
| Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Diana Dutilh-Dumas (NED), Tadao Tahara (JPN) |||
| 15 August 2016 14:10 | Report | three players 1 | Goals | four players 2 | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Diana Dutilh-Dumas (NED), Tadao Tahara (JPN) |
| 15 August 2016 15:30 | Report | Australia | 11–13 | Hungary | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Francesc Buch (ESP), Vojin Putniković (SRB) |
| Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Francesc Buch (ESP), Vojin Putniković (SRB) |||
| 15 August 2016 15:30 | Report | Southern 3 | Goals | Bujka, Keszthelyi 2 | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Francesc Buch (ESP), Vojin Putniković (SRB) |
| 15 August 2016 18:20 | Report | Russia | 12–10 | Spain | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Marie-Claude Deslières (CAN), Nenad Peris (CRO) |
| Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Marie-Claude Deslières (CAN), Nenad Peris (CRO) |||
| 15 August 2016 18:20 | Report | Fedotova 4 | Goals | López, Tarragó 3 | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Marie-Claude Deslières (CAN), Nenad Peris (CRO) |
| 15 August 2016 19:40 | Report | Italy | 12–7 | China | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Georgios Stavridis (GRE), Adrian Alexandrescu (ROU) |
| Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Georgios Stavridis (GRE), Adrian Alexandrescu (ROU) |||
| 15 August 2016 19:40 | Report | Bianconi 3 | Goals | Zhang Cong 3 | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Georgios Stavridis (GRE), Adrian Alexandrescu (ROU) |

### 5th–8th place classification

All times are BRT (UTC-3).
| 17 August 2016 11:00 | Report | Australia | 11–4 | Brazil | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Ni Shi Wei (CHN), Marie Deslières (CAN) |
| Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Ni Shi Wei (CHN), Marie Deslières (CAN) |||
| 17 August 2016 11:00 | Report | Arancini, Southern 3 | Goals | Chiappini 2 | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Ni Shi Wei (CHN), Marie Deslières (CAN) |
| 17 August 2016 15:10 | Report | Spain | 11–6 | China | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Radosław Koryzna (POL), Fabio Toffoli (ITA) |
| Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Radosław Koryzna (POL), Fabio Toffoli (ITA) |||
| 17 August 2016 15:10 | Report | five players 2 | Goals | Ma Huanhuan 2 | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Radosław Koryzna (POL), Fabio Toffoli (ITA) |

### Semifinals

All times are BRT (UTC-3).
| 17 August 2016 12:20 | Report | Russia | 9–12 | Italy | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Mark Koganov (AZE), Francesc Buch (ESP) |
| Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Mark Koganov (AZE), Francesc Buch (ESP) |||
| 17 August 2016 12:20 | Report | Ivanova, Lisunova 2 | Goals | Garibotti 5 | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Mark Koganov (AZE), Francesc Buch (ESP) |
| 17 August 2016 16:30 | Report | Hungary | 10–14 | United States | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Daniel Flahive (AUS), Georgios Stavridis (GRE) |
| Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Daniel Flahive (AUS), Georgios Stavridis (GRE) |||
| 17 August 2016 16:30 | Report | Keszthelyi 4 | Goals | Steffens 4 | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Daniel Flahive (AUS), Georgios Stavridis (GRE) |

### 7th place match

All times are BRT (UTC-3).
| 19 August 2016 10:00 | Report | Brazil | 5–10 | China | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Daniel Flahive (AUS), Nenad Peris (CRO) |
| Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Daniel Flahive (AUS), Nenad Peris (CRO) |||
| 19 August 2016 10:00 | Report | Chiappini 3 | Goals | three players 2 | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Daniel Flahive (AUS), Nenad Peris (CRO) |

### 5th place match

All times are BRT (UTC-3).
| 19 August 2016 14:10 | Report | Australia | 10–12 | Spain | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Marie-Claude Deslières (CAN), Sergey Naumov (RUS) |
| Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Marie-Claude Deslières (CAN), Sergey Naumov (RUS) |||
| 19 August 2016 14:10 | Report | Buckling 3 | Goals | Tarragó 7 | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Marie-Claude Deslières (CAN), Sergey Naumov (RUS) |

### Bronze medal match

All times are BRT (UTC-3).
| 19 August 2016 11:20 | Report | Hungary | 18–19 | Russia | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Diana Dutilh-Dumas (NED), Fillippo Gomez (ITA) |
| Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Diana Dutilh-Dumas (NED), Fillippo Gomez (ITA) |||
| 19 August 2016 11:20 | Report | Bujka 3 | Goals | Fedotova 5 | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Diana Dutilh-Dumas (NED), Fillippo Gomez (ITA) |

### Gold medal match

All times are BRT (UTC-3).
| 19 August 2016 15:30 | Report | United States | 12–5 | Italy | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Adrian Alexandrescu (ROU), Francesc Buch (ESP) |
| Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Adrian Alexandrescu (ROU), Francesc Buch (ESP) |||
| 19 August 2016 15:30 | Report | Neushul 3 | Goals | Radicchi 2 | Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Adrian Alexandrescu (ROU), Francesc Buch (ESP) |

## Ranking and statistics
### Final ranking

| Rank | Team |
| | United States |
| | Italy |
| | Russia |
| 4 | Hungary |
| 5 | Spain |
| 6 | Australia |
| 7 | China |
| 8 | Brazil |
* 2016 Women's Olympic champions
* United States Second title

### Multi-time Olympians

Four-time Olympian(s): 1 player
* Italy: Tania Di Mario
Three-time Olympian(s): 12 players
* Australia: Gemma Beadsworth, Bronwen Knox
* China: Ma Huanhuan, Sun Yating, Yang Jun (GK)
* Hungary: Orsolya Takács
* Italy: Teresa Frassinetti
* Russia: Nadezhda Glyzina-Fedotova, Ekaterina Lisunova, Ekaterina Prokofyeva, Evgenia Soboleva
* United States: Kami Craig

### Multiple medalists

Three-time Olympic medalist(s): 1 player
* United States: Kami Craig

## Medalists

| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| United States (USA) Samantha Hill Maddie Musselman Melissa Seidemann Rachel Fattal Caroline Clark Maggie Steffens Courtney Mathewson Kiley Neushul Aria Fischer Kaleigh Gilchrist Makenzie Fischer Kami Craig Ashleigh Johnson Head coach: Adam Krikorian | Italy (ITA) Giulia Gorlero Chiara Tabani Arianna Garibotti Elisa Queirolo Federica Radicchi Rosaria Aiello Tania Di Mario Roberta Bianconi Giulia Enrica Emmolo Francesca Pomeri Aleksandra Cotti Teresa Frassinetti Laura Teani Head coach: Fabio Conti | Russia (RUS) Anna Ustyukhina Maria Borisova Ekaterina Prokofyeva Elvina Karimova Nadezhda Fedotova Olga Belova Ekaterina Lisunova Anastasia Simanovich Anna Timofeeva Evgenia Soboleva Evgeniya Ivanova Anna Grineva Anna Karnaukh Head coach: Alexandr Gaidukov |

## Awards

The women's all-star team was announced on 19 August 2016.

### Most Valuable Player

* Maggie Steffens (17 goals, 1 sprints won)

### Media All-Star Team

* Goalkeeper
** Ashleigh Johnson (51 saves)
* Field players
** Barbara Bujka (centre forward, left-handed, 15 goals)
** Arianna Garibotti (12 goals)
** Rita Keszthelyi (14 goals, 10 sprints won)
** Maddie Musselman (12 goals)
** Ashleigh Southern (14 goals)
** Maggie Steffens (17 goals, 1 sprints won)