Water polo at the 1904 Olympics was retroactively recognized as an official Olympic sport in 2021, over a century after the event.
Key Facts
- Number of teams
- 3 club teams
- Players per team
- 7
- Venue
- Artificial lake in Forest Park
- Post-event deaths
- 2 Olympians died of typhoid fever
- Official recognition year
- 2021
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 1904 Summer Olympics, held alongside the World's Fair in St. Louis, included a water polo tournament. Only club teams were eligible to compete; a German team was refused entry because its players did not all belong to the same club, limiting the field to three American club teams.
Three club teams of seven players each contested the water polo tournament in an artificial lake in Forest Park. The event was later classified for decades as a demonstration sport by the IOC and FINA, casting doubt on the official status of its results and participants.
Two Olympians died of typhoid fever shortly after the competition, possibly due to livestock contaminating the lake. In July 2021, following historian Bill Mallon's recommendation, the IOC officially recognized water polo as part of the 1904 Olympic program, restoring full medal status to the event.
Result
at Artificial lake, Forest Park, St. Louis