Athletes to Watch-Maggie Steffens, United States: The decorated attacker was banged up at the Tokyo Olympics, but she still helped the U.S. to an unprecedented third consecutive gold medal. She is the highest scoring woman in Olympics history with 56 goals.-Alvaro Granados, Spain: The 25-year-old Granados rallied Spain to a dramatic 11-10 victory over Croatia in January for the country’s first European championship. He scored a team-high 18 goals when Spain finished fourth at the Tokyo Games.-Simone van de Kraats, Netherlands: One of the leaders for the high-scoring Dutch, the 23-year-old van de Kraats poured in a tournament-high 28 goals…
USA Women Water Polo Team (Photo Credit: Twitter/@maggiesteffens) Paris, July 12: Hungary is the winningest program in men’s water polo with nine golds, but its bronze in Tokyo was its first medal since its run of three straight Olympic titles from 2000 to 2008. Gergo Zalanki and company are hoping to get the country back in the final in Paris. Croatia is the reigning men’s world champion after a dramatic 15-13 victory over Italy in February. It is looking for a second gold medal at the Olympics after it also won in London. A roadmap to follow for the water…
Photo: Kelowna Water Polo Club The Kelowna Classic Lake Water Polo Tournament is back for a second year this weekend, putting together a 13-team tournament in the lake off City Park. Across those teams, 140 people have signed up for the tournament, including four youth teams and nine adult teams from around B.C., Alberta and Ontario. Organizer and goalkeeper Ben Halsall is excited for the growth of the tournament between this year and last year and he hopes to make this an annual event for people who love getting out on the water. “It’s really a fun mix of beginner…
A roadmap to follow for water polo at the Paris OlympicsJuly 12, 2024, 4:34 AM ET• 3 min readA roadmap to follow for the water polo competition at the Paris Games:Athletes to Watch—Maggie Steffens, United States: The decorated attacker was banged up at the Tokyo Olympics, but she still helped the U.S. to an unprecedented third consecutive gold medal. She is the highest scoring woman in Olympics history with 56 goals.—Alvaro Granados, Spain: The 25-year-old Granados rallied Spain to a dramatic 11-10 victory over Croatia in January for the country’s first European championship. He scored a team-high 18 goals when…
Gilbert Flores Flavor Flav admittedly doesn’t know much about water polo, but the Public Enemy rapper is all in on the U.S. Women’s team this summer when they travel to Paris for the 2024 Olympics. After the rapper responded to a comment by team coach and three time gold-medal-winning captain Maggie Steffens calling for support for the team earlier this year, the dynamic duo appeared on CBS Mornings together on Monday (July 1) to talk about their unlikely partnership. Flav — who has signed a five-year sponsorship deal for both the men’s and women’s U.S. water polo teams — was…
USA Water Polo Flavor Flav recently signed a sponsorship deal to be the “official Hype Man for USA Water Polo Women’s and Men’s National Teams.” CNN — Rapper, reality TV star, and entrepreneur Flavor Flav has joined the US women’s water polo team in the pool for a splash about ahead of this summer’s Olympics. The musician donned swim shorts and an official USA Water Polo cap – removing his trademark clock medallion poolside – as he chanted “USA, USA” before getting into the water on Tuesday. Flav, who recently signed a sponsorship deal to be the “official Hype Man…
“You can and you will.” That’s what Tara Prentice’s mom told her daughter from the time she was a young girl learning water polo. “It became my mantra,” says Prentice, 26, recently named center for the U.S. women’s water polo team going to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. “It gave me the foundation to dream big and to accomplish anything I set my mind to.” It certainly worked at UC Irvine, where Prentice became the school’s all-time leading scorer while earning two master’s degrees. And it helped her twice make the U.S. national team – the first time narrowly missing…
STANFORD, Calif. – Princeton grad and four-year letter winner Kevin Zhang has been named assistant coach for the Stanford men’s water polo program, as announced by Brian Flacks, the Dunlevie Family Director of Men’s Water Polo. “I’m thrilled to welcome Kevin to the Farm. His addition marks a significant step for our program, as we become one of the few in the nation with a full complement of coaches on staff. Kevin’s unique background and highly successful career in athletics and business will undoubtedly offer innovative insights and strategies to push our program forward,” said Flacks. “Beyond his proven track…
Jeffrey Runyan, new Crean Lutheran Director of Aquatics and water polo coach. (Photo courtesy Crean Lutheran High School). Crean Lutheran High School officials announced that Jeffrey Runyan, a former Concordia University Irvine water polo standout, has been named Director of Aquatics and head boys and girls water polo coach. “We are very excited for Coach Runyan and our entire aquatics program,” said Crean Lutheran Athletic Director Eric Olson in a statement. “Jeffrey’s extensive experience in the water, organizational skills, strategic vision and commitment to both athletic and academic excellence align perfectly with our mission of Proclaiming Jesus Christ through Excellence…
Photo: Albert ten Hove/Orange Pictures Montenegrin water polo player Aleksa Ukropina has been suspended for two years, it was confirmed by “News” from the Water Polo and Swimming Federation of Montenegro. Ukropina will thus not play until February 2026, after the Anti-Doping Section of the Court of Arbitration for Sport imposed a sentence on him. The left-handed water polo player tested positive for an illegal inhalant drug and was tested before going to the World Championships in Doha in February. The results arrived during the World Cup, before the quarter-final clash with Spain, which is why Ukropina missed the games…