Water Polo - Team United States

General
The United States of America are historically one of the stronger nations in water polo at the Olympic Games, having won a total of nine medals. Only one of those is gold, which came in unusual circumstances at the 1904 Games in St. Louis where the three teams contesting the water polo competition were all US clubs. The gold medal was won by the New York Athletic Club, and all three medals awarded at the 1904 Games are considered valid by the IOC as medals won by the US team. Bronze medals followed in 1924, 1932, and 1972, and the US team claimed silver in 1984, 1988, and 2008.

The US team were ranked 10th at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, which is their lowest finish at the Olympic Games. They managed wins in the group stage against France and Italy, but defeats to Croatia, Spain, and Montenegro meant they failed to qualify for the knockout stages.

The US team are yet to win a medal at the world championships, with a best result of fourth achieved in 1986, 1991, and 2009. At the 2019 edition, the team finished second in Group B behind Croatia but were eliminated in the play-off round for the quarterfinals by Greece. Victories over South Africa and Montenegro in the classification rounds ensured a ninth-place finish. They have had more success at other global tournaments, with World Cup triumphs in 1991 and 1997, and World League Super Final silver medals in 2008 and 2016.

The US team secured qualification for Tokyo by beating Canada 18-6 in the final at the 2019 Pan American Games, their seventh consecutive gold medal at the Games. The US team have finished on the podium at every Pan American Games water polo tournament dating back to 1951, winning 13 out of 18 gold medals on offer.