Russia women's national water polo team

Water polo in Russia dates back to 1910, when the sport was included into the national water sports programme. The Shuvalov school was opened back then, featuring rules that differed from the international rules. In 1913, the first water polo tournament was played between the Shuvalov school and Moscow, with the first winning 3–2. The new sport progressed in Russia, as all swimming organizations included this sport into their programme. P. Erofeev and A. Shemansky further populized water polo by publishing brochures with rules and hints.[1]

As previously, water polo was predominant in Moscow and Leningrad (formerly known as St. Petersburg). However, this changed when the water polo teams of the Black Sea Fleet, Baltic Fleet and Caspian Flotilla further spread water polo in Russia. In the early history, water polo was popular especially among sailors. The strongest teams were Delfin of Leningrad and the Moscow Life Saving Society and the Yacht-Club. Following the resolution by the organizing bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1925, physical culture has been greatly propagated in Russia, stimulating water polo as well.[2]

The first championship took place in 1925. Apart from the teams of Leningrad, Moscow and Kyiv, the tournament featured teams from the Caucasus, Crimea, Ural, as well as the aforementioned fleet teams. Three years later, water polo was included in the All-Union Spartakiade (sports festival). The team of Leningrad dominated in Russian water polo until 1933, as the city had winter water pools and so had more training opportunities. In 1946, the USSR Water Polo Cup was introduced. One year later, the Soviet Union was selected into the FINA. The national water polo then debuted at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Helsinki.[2]

Roster for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Head coach: Alexandr Gaidukov[5]

No.	Player	Pos.	L/R	Height	Weight	Date of birth (age)	Apps	OG/ Goals	Club	Ref
1	Evgeniia Golovina	10GK	2R	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	68 kg (150 lb)	(1999-07-14)14 July 1999 (aged 22)	2	0/0	Dinamo-Uralochka Zlatoust	[6]
2	Maria Bersneva	50D	2R	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)	61 kg (134 lb)	(1998-12-17)17 December 1998 (aged 22)	20	0/0	Dinamo-Uralochka Zlatoust	[7]
3	Ekaterina Prokofyeva (C)	40CF	2R	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)	70 kg (154 lb)	(1991-03-13)13 March 1991 (aged 30)	150	3/20	Kinef-Surgutneftegaz	[8]
4	Elvina Karimova	50D	2R	1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)	62 kg (137 lb)	(1994-03-25)25 March 1994 (aged 27)	50	1/5	Dinamo-Uralochka Zlatoust	[9]
5	Veronika Vakhitova	20CB	2R	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	71 kg (157 lb)	(1998-06-13)13 June 1998 (aged 23)	60	0/0	SKIF-CSP Moskomsporta	[10]
6	Anastasia Fedotova	50D	2R	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)	61 kg (134 lb)	(1998-11-30)30 November 1998 (aged 22)	27	0/0	Spartak Volgograd	[11]
7	Alena Serzhantova	50D	2R	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	72 kg (159 lb)	(1998-05-06)6 May 1998 (aged 23)	25	0/0	SKIF-CSP Moskomsporta	[12]
8	Anastasia Simanovich	20CB	2R	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)	70 kg (154 lb)	(1995-01-23)23 January 1995 (aged 26)	100	1/10	Kinef-Surgutneftegaz	[13]
9	Anna Timofeeva	20CB	2R	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	87 kg (192 lb)	(1987-07-18)18 July 1987 (aged 34)	45	1/3	Yugra	[14]
10	Evgeniya Soboleva	20CB	2R	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	75 kg (165 lb)	(1988-08-26)26 August 1988 (aged 32)	120	3/6	Kinef-Surgutneftegaz	[15]
11	Evgeniya Ivanova	50D	2R	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)	70 kg (154 lb)	(1987-07-26)26 July 1987 (aged 33)	80	2/16	Kinef-Surgutneftegaz	[16]
12	Nadezhda Glyzina	50D	2R	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	68 kg (150 lb)	(1988-05-20)20 May 1988 (aged 33)	167	3/18	Kinef-Surgutneftegaz	[17]
13	Anna Karnaukh	10GK	2R	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	61 kg (134 lb)	(1993-08-31)31 August 1993 (aged 27)	101	2/0	Kinef-Surgutneftegaz	[18]
Average				1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)	69 kg (152 lb)	27 years, 246 days	73

Note: Age as of 23 July 2021
Source: ROC Women | Tokyo 2020 Olympics Archived 2021-07-22 at the Wayback Machine