U.S. water polo teams discover group stage opponents for 2024 Paris Olympics
(WCMH) — The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris are nearly five months away and a pair of United States teams now know who they will face.
Team USA will have a men’s and women’s water polo team at the games in Paris this summer and the groups for each of those tournaments are now set. The US women will enter the Olympics as heavy favorites once again as they search for a fourth straight Olympic gold medal.
U.S. cyclist hoping to cap off remarkable comeback with gold in Paris
The women’s tournament has ten teams with two groups of five to start. The Americans have been paired with the hosts France, Greece, 2016 silver medalists Italy, and Spain, who the USA beat in the final at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Women’s Water Polo groups
Group A | Group B |
 Hungary |  France |
 Australia |  Greece |
 Canada |  Italy |
 China |  United States |
 Netherlands |  Spain |
The top four teams in each group will qualify for the knockout stage on the road to the final on Aug. 10. Since 2010, US women’s water polo has won three Olympic gold medals and five world championships. They are the only nation to win multiple Olympic women’s water polo gold medals.
Meanwhile, the men’s team is back in the Olympics after missing the Tokyo games and have been dealt a tough draw. Men’s water polo consists of two groups of six teams with the Americans featured with 2012 gold medalists Croatia and 2020 silver medalists Greece.
The US men have never won a gold in water polo and have not medaled since taking silver at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Serbia enter as the two-time defending Olympic champions.
Men’s Water Polo groups
Group A | Group B |
 Croatia | Australia |
Italy |  Serbia |
 Romania | France |
Greece | Hungary |
United States |  Japan |
 Montenegro | Spain |
Water polo group play begins on July 27, the first official day of competition at the Paris Olympics. You can watch both teams alongside wall-to-wall Olympics coverage this summer on NBC4 and NBC Universal channels.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
