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Women’s Water Polo
This year's women's field will include teams from Australia, The Netherlands, Canada, Russia, Kazakhstan and the United States. The host Australians and the Netherlands had been considered favorites for the gold medal -- until the United States shocked everyone by winning the Holiday Cup, a pre-Olympic tournament in Los Alamitos, CA. According to USA Water Polo Director of Communications, Eric Velazquez , "the US destroyed everyone. Even though some of the scores were close, the other teams were just outmatched." With confidence and momentum going into the Games, the American women will be a force to be reckoned with. From 19-year-old Erika Lorenz to 39-year-old Maureen O'Toole, the team shows a balance of youth and experience in which the stars of today and tomorrow work together to achieve what they have all dreamed of – an Olympic gold medal. O'Toole, considered to be the greatest female water polo player ever, came out of retirement for the second time in 1997 to achieve the one thing she had never been able to do. She is a six-time World MVP and five time U.S. Water Polo Female Athlete of the Year. She has been on the U.S. National Team since 1978 when she was only 17, and competed in six World Championships, but has never been able to compete for an Olympic gold medal.
Despite a number of non-water polo injuries earlier this year, the team has excelled beyond many people's wildest expectations. Now that they are healthy, a gold medal in Sydney seems to be well within their reach. [Source: Sarah Murray, USOC Media and Public Relations Intern, Women’Sports Wire. For more information on full release contact usocpressbox.org (media site). To visit the USOC online, see usolympicteam.com.] New Women’s Olympic Events COLORADO SPRINGS, CO. Things are changing for female Olympians! The official program for the 2000 Olympic Games will showcase the talents of women in 24 new events, and both men and women in one new mixed event. When the Olympic Games were revived more than a hundred years ago, men contested the 43 events on the official program only. Today's Olympic program consists of 300 events with 120 of those specifically for women and an additional 12 in the mixed category. In order to accommodate some of the new additions, the International Olympic Committee reduced the number of men's weight classes from 10 to 8 in weightlifting as well as in both wrestling disciplines, and replaced the women's 10km racewalk with the 20km racewalk event. Three new women’s events will debut in track and field. For the first time in Olympic history, spectators will see women compete in the pole vault and hammer throw along with the 20km racewalk. New events were also added for women only in the sports of modern pentathlon (individual), shooting (trap and skeet), synchronized swimming (return of the duet competition), water polo, and weightlifting (seven weight classes). The two new sports on the official program will bring both a men's and women's individual competition in triathlon and four weight classes to each in taekwondo. Cycling's new women’s events include the 500m time trial and the Olympic sprint. Gymnastics brings the new discipline of trampolining to the program with a men's and women's individual event, and diving will contest for the first time the 3m and 10m synchronized diving events for both men and women. Sailing is the lone sport to have a mixed event added to the program with the 49er event. The IOC is also continuing to support the two disabled exhibition events on the program. The Games will once again feature the abilities of disabled athletes in the women's 800m and men's 1,500m wheelchair competitions. Great strides have been made in bringing gender equity to the Olympic program. Young girls, women, and even boys and men, have more female role models than ever to look up to. The impact of women's sports in recent history with the success of the U.S. Olympic Teams in sports such as softball, soccer and ice hockey, as well as the addition of the new events on the 2000 Olympic Games program, can only help to perpetuate the recognition of today's women athletes. [Source: Barbara Gresham, Coordinator, USOC Media and Public Relations, Women’Sports Wire. For more information on
full release contact usocpressbox.org (media site). To visit the USOC online see
usolympicteam.com.] |
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COLORADO SPRINGS, CO. Water polo has been played since the mid-nineteenth century and has been a part of the Olympic Games
since 1900, when it became the first team sport added to the Olympic program. However, up to this point, only men have been able to play for the gold. Finally this September, women will
make their first Olympic appearance. Six countries will compete to become the first gold medalist in women's water polo.
As one of the first teams to compete in women's water polo in the Olympic Games, there is a certain amount of pressure, as well as excitement, which surrounds the team. Coach Guy Baker
does his best to keep the team focused of the task at hand. The popularity of the sport is growing rapidly, as evidenced by the crowd of 2,200 that came to see the final evening of the Holiday Cup.