Maggie Steffens of the United States celebrates her goal during the women’s water polo final against Hungary during the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar, on February 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee ​​​​Jin-man)

A step-by-step plan for the water polo competition during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Athletes to watch

Maggie Steffens, United States: The decorated forward was injured during the Tokyo Olympics, but she still helped the US to an unprecedented third consecutive gold medal. She is the highest-scoring woman in Olympic history with 56 goals.

Alvaro Granados, Spain: The 25-year-old Granados led Spain to a dramatic 11-10 victory over Croatia in January for the country’s first European Championship. He scored a team-high 18 goals as Spain finished fourth at the Tokyo Games.

Simone van de Kraats, Netherlands: One of the leaders in the Dutch top scorers, 23-year-old van de Kraats scored a tournament-high 28 goals during her first Olympic Games in Tokyo. She led the Netherlands to the World Championship last year for the biggest title since winning gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Marko Bijac, Croatia: The goalkeeper is still one of the best in the world. He won silver at the 2016 Olympics and was named best goalkeeper at the European Championship this year.

Francesco di Fulvio, Italy: The 30-year-old di Fulvio was the MVP at this year’s World Cup, scoring a team-high 17 goals for Italy in Tokyo.

Bea Ortiz, Spain: The talented Ortiz helped Spain to a second place finish at the Tokyo Games. She scored four times as Spain defeated the United States 17-15 in last year’s World Cup qualifier in the Netherlands, handing the American team one of its four losses in 2023.

Storylines to follow

Steffens and the US go for history. No team — men’s or women’s — has won four consecutive water polo titles at the Olympics. The Americans are thinly represented in the middle this time around, but that may not matter with their arsenal of forwards and Ashleigh Johnson as goalie.

Hungary is the winningest team in men’s water polo with nine gold medals, but the bronze in Tokyo was the first medal since the three consecutive Olympic titles from 2000 to 2008. Gergo Zalanki and his team hope to get their country back into the final in Paris.

Croatia is the reigning men’s world champion after a dramatic 15-13 victory over Italy in February. It is seeking a second Olympic gold medal after also winning in London.

Important data

The preliminary round begins on July 27 at the Aquatics Centre, with the women and men alternating throughout the Summer Games. The women’s final is on August 10 at the Paris La Défense Arena, with the men’s championship held the following day at the same venue.

Reigning champions

• Women: United States
• Gentlemen: Serbia