Water polo at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament
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The women's water polo tournament at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, was held from 16 to 23 September 2000, with six teams competing in the debut tournament. The games were held at the Ryde Aquatic Centre and the Sydney Olympic Aquatic Centre. It was the first time in history that women's water polo officially competed at the Summer Olympics.
Tournament details | |
---|---|
Host country | Australia |
City | Sydney |
Venue(s) | Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre, Sydney International Aquatic Centre |
Dates | 16–23 September 2000 |
Teams | 6 (from 4 confederations) |
Competitors | 78 |
Final positions | |
Champions | Australia (1st title) |
Runners-up | United States |
Third place | Russia |
Fourth place | Netherlands |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches | 20 |
Goals scored | 245 (12.25 per match) |
Top scorer(s) | Daniëlle de Bruijn Bridgette Gusterson Sofia Konukh (11 goals in 7 matches) |
Most saves | Karla Plugge (45 saves in 7 matches) |
Top sprinter(s) | Tatiana Petrova (16 sprints won in 7 matches) |
2004 → |
The tournament's format saw the six teams compete in a round-robin with the top four teams qualifying through to the semi-finals while the fifth and sixth teams competed in the fifth place playoff. From there, the winners of the semis met in the gold medal match while the losers met in the bronze medal match.
At the end of the round-robin, Australia, the Netherlands, Russia and the United States finished in the top four. After the Australians and the Americans each won their semi-final, they met in the final which was played on 23 September 2000. With the match tied at 3–3, Yvette Higgins scored the winning goal with only 1.3 seconds left on the clock to give Australia the gold medal. Russia captured bronze, beating the Netherlands 4–3.