Who is the most famous water polo team?
How it started. Hungary has been a powerhouse of water polo since the introduction of the sport at the Olympic Games. The statistics speaks for themselves: they’ve participated in 22 of 27 Olympic tournaments, winning nine gold, three silver and three bronze. Gyarmati became European Champion two times, in 1954 and in 1962. He is widely considered the greatest water polo player of all time. Gyarmati played a total of 108 matches with the Hungary national team. He was among the fastest water polo players of his time, with a personal record of 58.
Where is water polo most popular in the world?
Geography. Water polo is now popular in many countries around the world, notably Europe (particularly in Spain, France, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro, Greece and Romania), Australia, Brazil, Canada and the United States. Every sport has its challenges. But when you combine endurance, physicality, skill, and pure mental toughness, nothing beats water polo. It’s like swimming, wrestling, basketball, and hockey all at once—except immensely harder.
Do water polo players get paid?
The pay depends on the team and experience level, likely around 20,000 euros (over $24,000) for first-year Americans in Europe — except for NCAA athletes who forgo a salary in order to retain their amateur status. Teams are often international, and are a mixture of amateur and professional players. A professional player on a high-level team funded by a patron can make anywhere from a million to two million dollars a year.