The women's water polo tournament at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London was held from 30 July to 9 August at the Water Polo Arena.
Teams from eight nations competed in the tournament and have been seeded into two groups for the preliminary round. A total of 24 games were played, 12 of them in the preliminary round.
Format
The tournament featured eight teams, separated into two groups of four teams. Each team played the other three teams in its pool once in a round-robin format. All eight teams advanced to the quarterfinal stage where they were seeded and played against a team from the other group.
The winners of the quarterfinal games moved on to the semifinals, while the quarterfinal losers played a series of classification games. The semifinal winners played in the gold medal game, while the losers played each other for the bronze.
Preliminary round All times are BST (UTC+1).
Group A
Group B
Final round Final bracket
5th place bracket
Quarterfinals All times are BST (UTC+1).
5th–8th place classification All times are BST (UTC+1).
Semifinals All times are BST (UTC+1).
7th place match All times are BST (UTC+1).
5th place match All times are BST (UTC+1).
Bronze medal match All times are BST (UTC+1).
Gold medal match All times are BST (UTC+1).
Ranking and statistics
Final ranking
Rank Team45678
Multi-time Olympians
Four-time Olympian(s): 3 players : Sofia Konukh : Heather Petri, Brenda Villa
Three-time Olympian(s): 6 players : Kate Gynther, Melissa Rippon : Rita Drávucz : Tania Di Mario, Elena Gigli (GK), Anikó Pelle
Multiple medalists
Four-time Olympic medalist(s): 2 players : Heather Petri, Brenda Villa
Top goalscorers RankNameGoalsShots 1 Maggie Steffens 21 27 782 Ma Huanhuan 19 53 36 3 Tania Di Mario 18 45 40 4 Anni Espar 15 41 375 Nicola Zagame 12 16 75 Barbara Bujka 12 26 46 Dóra Antal 12 32 37 Ashleigh Southern 12 32 37 Gabriella Szűcs 12 32 37 Jennifer Pareja 12 34 35 Rowie Webster 12 42 29
Medallists GoldSilverBronzeElizabeth ArmstrongHeather PetriMelissa SeidemannBrenda VillaLauren WengerMaggie SteffensCourtney MathewsonJessica SteffensElsie WindesKelly RulonAnnika DriesKami CraigTumuaialii AnaeHead coach: Adam KrikorianLaura EsterMarta BachAnni EsparRoser TarragóMatilde OrtizJennifer ParejaLorena MirandaPilar PeñaAndrea BlasOna MeseguerMaica GarcíaLaura LópezAna CopadoHead coach: Miki OcaVictoria BrownGemma BeadsworthSophie SmithHolly Lincoln-SmithJane MoranBronwen KnoxRowena WebsterKate GyntherGlencora RalphAshleigh SouthernMelissa RipponNicola ZagameAlicia McCormackHead coach: Greg McFadden
Awards The women's all-star team was announced on 9 August 2012.
Most Valuable Player Maggie Steffens (21 goals)
Media All-Star Team Goalkeeper Elizabeth Armstrong (53 saves) Field players Barbara Bujka (centre forward, left-handed, 12 goals) Anni Espar (15 goals) Holly Lincoln-Smith (centre back, 5 goals) Jennifer Pareja (12 goals, 21 sprints won) Maggie Steffens (21 goals) Nicola Zagame (12 goals, 4 sprints won)
See also
Water polo at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament
References
Sources PDF documents on the FINA website: Official Results Book – 2012 Olympic Games – Diving, Swimming, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo (archive) (pp. 284–507) Water polo on the Olympedia website Water polo at the 2012 Summer Olympics (women's tournament) Water polo on the Sports Reference website Water polo at the 2012 Summer Games (women's tournament) (archived)