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Olympic Water Polo 2024: Where to Watch, Full Schedule
Get all the information on where and when to watch the men's and women's teams play at the Summer Games in Paris.
One of the splashiest events at the 2024 Paris Olympics is sure to be water polo. The sport debuted at the Games for men in 1900. Women’s water polo premiered a century later, in 2000, during the Sydney Olympics. This vigorous aquatic sport is all about scoring goals by throwing a ball into the opponent’s net.
The United States has a distinguished record in water polo, especially in women’s competition, where Team USA is the reigning three-time champion after winning gold at London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. The men’s team has also stepped up, winning three silver and four bronze medals since 1924.
Key athletes to watch
Team USA is ready to make waves – and history – in water polo at the 2024 Olympic Games. That includes superstar Maggie Steffens, 31, the women’s team captain. She had an illustrious sports career at Stanford and lands in the City of Light as a three-time Olympic champion.
RELATED: Where To Watch 2024 Paris Olympics: Complete Schedule
Steffens first won gold in London 2012, followed by Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2020, where she notched 56 goals and set a new women’s Olympic scoring record. Preserving that gilded streak is the goal.
“The hardest part of the journey is staying at the top,” Steffens told Olympics.com.
Ben Hallock, 26, the men’s team captain, was in the pool in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. Like Steffens, he stood out at Stanford, where he was a three-time NCAA champion. Hallock currently plays for Pro Recco in the Italian professional water polo league – but his focus is France.
“I’m just dreaming about the moment and having the privilege to have your team standing on the podium,” Hallock told NBCOlympics.com.
Alex Bowen, 29, is set to make his third Olympic appearance in Paris, where his reputation as a goal-getter – he’s one of Team USA’s top scorers – precedes him. “I get to really try and help the offense as much as I can,” Bowen told Olympics.com.
At 29, Princeton graduate Ashleigh Johnson is known as the best goalkeeper in the world, or, simply, "the wall." Instrumental in securing gold medals for Team USA in Rio and Tokyo, she’s a trailblazer as the first African-American woman to play on the U.S. water polo team.
Growing up in Florida, she enrolled in a swim program with water polo, which was “super fun, very engaging, very dynamic,” she said in an interview before the Tokyo Games.
Some things never change, they just transform on an Olympic scale.
Learn more about Team USA athletes heading to Paris on NBC’s Olympics website.
How to watch
Every day during the Summer Olympics, NBC will offer fans at least nine hours of daytime coverage of the Games’ most exciting events, including live finals coverage of swimming, gymnastics, track and field, and more. Considering the time difference (Paris is six hours ahead of the U.S.’s eastern time zone), fans will be able to watch the day’s most popular events live on NBC in the morning and afternoon. NBC will also deliver an enhanced Olympics primetime show each night, providing three hours of must-see entertainment.
In addition, every event from the Summer Olympics will be broadcast live on Peacock, which will be home to an innovative Olympics hub that will include "curated rails of live and upcoming events, dedicated in-depth hubs for nearly 40 sports, medal standings and an interactive schedule."
Complete schedule for Olympic water polo events
Saturday, July 27
8:00 a.m. ET: Women’s Group A: Netherlands vs. Hungary
9:35 a.m. ET: Women's Group B: Greece vs. USA
12:30 p.m. ET: Women's Group B: Spain vs. France
2:05 p.m. ET: Women's Group A: Australia vs. China
Sunday, July 28
4:30 a.m. ET: Men's Group B: Australia vs. Spain
6:05 a.m. ET: Men's Group B: Serbia vs. Japan
9:00 a.m. ET: Men's Group A: Italy vs. USA
10:35 a.m. ET: Men's Group A: Croatia vs. Montenegro
1:30 p.m. ET: Men's Group B: France vs. Hungary
3:05 p.m. ET: Men's Group A: Romania vs. Greece
Monday, July 29
8:00 a.m. ET: Women's Group B: France vs. Italy
9:35 a.m. ET: Women's Group B: USA vs. Spain
12:30 p.m. ET: Women's Group A: China vs. Netherlands
2:05 p.m. ET: Women's Group A: Hungary vs. Canada
Tuesday, July 30
4:30 a.m. ET: Men's Group B: Australia vs. Serbia
6:05 a.m. ET: Men's Group A: Croatia vs. Italy
9:00 a.m. ET: Men's Group B: Japan vs. France
10:35 a.m. ET: Men's Group A: USA vs. Romania
1:30 p.m. ET: Men's Group A: Montenegro vs. Greece
3:00 p.m. ET: Men's Group B: Spain vs. Hungary
Wednesday, July 31
8:00 a.m. ET: Women's Group A: Netherlands vs. Australia
9:35 a.m. ET: Women's Group A: Canada vs. China
12:30 p.m. ET: Women's Group B: Italy vs. USA
2:05 p.m. ET: Women's Group B: Spain vs. Greece
Thursday, August 1
4:30 a.m. ET: Men's Group A: Greece vs. USA
6:05 a.m. ET: Men's Group B: Serbia vs. Spain
9:00 a.m. ET: Men's Group B: France vs. Australia
10:35 a.m. ET: Men's Group A: Italy vs. Montenegro
1:30 p.m. ET: Men's Group A: Romania vs. Croatia
3:05 p.m. ET: Men's Group B: Hungary vs. Japan
Friday, August 2
8:00 a.m. ET: Women's Group A: Australia vs. Canada
9:35 a.m. ET: Women's Group B: Greece vs. Italy
12:30 p.m. ET: Women's Group B: USA vs. France
2:05 p.m. ET: Women's Group A: China vs. Hungary
Saturday, August 3
4:30 a.m. ET: Men's Group B: Spain vs. Japan
6:05 a.m. ET: Men's Group A: Croatia vs. Greece
9:00 a.m. ET: Men's Group B: Australia vs. Hungary
10:35 a.m. ET: Men's Group A: Montenegro vs. USA
1:30 p.m. ET: Men's Group B: Serbia vs. France
3:05 p.m. ET: Men's Group A: Italy vs. Romania
Sunday, August 4
8:00 a.m. ET: Women's Group A: Hungary vs. Australia
9:35 a.m. ET: Women's Group B: Italy vs. Spain
12:30 p.m. ET: Women's Group A: Canada vs. Netherlands
2:05 p.m. ET: Women's Group B: France vs. Greece
Monday, August 5
6:00 a.m. ET: Men's Group B: Hungary vs. Serbia
7:35 a.m. ET: Men's Group B: Australia vs. Japan
9:10 a.m. ET: Men's Group A: Greece vs. Italy
12:30 p.m. ET: Men's Group A: Croatia vs. USA
>2:00 p.m. ET: Men's Group B: France vs. Spain
3:30 p.m. ET: Men's Group A: Romania vs. Montenegro
Tuesday, August 6
8:00 a.m. ET: Women's Quarterfinal 1
9:35 a.m. ET: Women's Quarterfinal 2
1:00 p.m. ET: Women's Quarterfinal 3
2:35 p.m. ET: Women's Quarterfinal 4
Wednesday, August 7
8:00 a.m. ET: Men's Quarterfinal 1
9:35 a.m. ET: Men's Quarterfinal 2
1:00 p.m. ET: Men's Quarterfinal 3
2:35 p.m. ET: Men's Quarterfinal 4
Thursday, August 8
7:00 a.m. ET: Women's Classification Match 1
8:35 a.m. ET: Women's Semifinal 1
12:00 p.m. ET: Women's Classification Match 2
1:35 p.m. ET: Women's Semifinal 2
Friday, August 9
7:00 a.m. ET: Men's Classification Match 1
8:35 a.m. ET: Men's Semifinal 1
12:00 p.m. ET: Men's Classification Match 2
1:35 p.m. ET: Men's Semifinal 2
Saturday, August 10
3:00 a.m. ET: Women's Classification Match 3
4:35 a.m. ET: Women's Bronze Final
8:00 a.m. ET: Women's Classification Match 4
9:35 a.m. ET: Women's Gold Final
1:35 p.m. ET: Men's Classification Match 3
Sunday, August 11
3:00 a.m. ET: Men's Classification Match 4
4:35 a.m. ET: Men's Bronze Final
8:00 a.m. ET: Men's Gold Final
