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Photo - Hungarian Water Polo Federation
Hungary is the most successful country in the history of the Europeans: they won the first title on offer in 1926, captured the following 4 as well – no other teams could clinch 5 titles in a row, so far – and amassed 13 golds altogether, also a record till date (1926, 1927, 1931, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1974, 1977, 1997, 1999, 2020). In fact, they won 8 of the first 10 editions (1926-1962) and 10 of the first 14, while only 3 in the last 22. They got silver in 1970, 1983, 1993, 1995, 2006, 2014, 2022, bronze in 1981, 2001, 2003, 2008, 2012 and 2016.
Their medal tally stands at 13-7-6, the best in the field. They came 4th in 1947, 2010 and in 2024, 5th in 1966, 1985, 1987, 1991, their worst ever performance was a 9th place in 1989 – and produced a second-worst in 2018 by finishing 8th, winning only two games in 7 matches.
All in all, Hungary were ranked in the Top 5 on 32 occasions in 34 appearances and skipped the Europeans only once in 1950 (due to political reasons).
On the world stage, the Hungarians also top the all-time ranks: they are 9-time Olympic champions (1932, 1936, 1952, 1956, 1964, 1976, 2000, 2004, 2008), got 3 silvers and 4 bronzes. After they ended up twice on the 5th place in London 2012 and in Rio 2016, they managed to return to the podium in Tokyo, finishing 3rd, though ended up 4th in Paris.
The Magyars are 4-time World champions (1973, 2003, 2013, 2023 – could win all editions held in years ending in 3) and they also have 8 silver medals and a bronze.
They won the World Cup in 1979, 1995, 1999 and 2018, and the World League in 2003 and 2004.
In fact, Hungary had only five gold medals in the last 17 years (2008 Olympics, 2013 Worlds, 2018 World Cup, 2022 Europeans, 2023 Worlds) at major events, though they reached a final in four of the last six years (2020 Europeans: gold, 2022 Europeans: silver, 2023 Worlds: gold, 2025 Worlds: silver).
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