Science of Summer Games: Water Polo

As athletes worldwide compete on the grandest stage, a global spotlight has converged on Paris, France, as the home of the 2024 Summer Olympics. Amidst this worldwide celebration, the University of Delaware is showcasing expertise and resources in human performance and sports sciences, innovative research and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Water polo is one of the oldest team sports in the Olympics, debuting at the Paris Games in 1900.

The sport combines swimming, soccer and basketball in the water and requires constant movement and a lot of coordination. The key: A player's feet can never touch the bottom of the pool.

"When you're treading water, you use your legs, quads, hips and knees; when you're swimming, you're using your shoulders, back and core to stay up and strong. It takes a lot of energy," said Anna Salamy, a junior marketing and sport management double major on the University of Delaware's club water polo team.

That kind of stress on the body can lead to injuries.

"Shoulder injuries are common - overuse injuries. There's usually active structures involved, so the rotator cuff, the tendons around the shoulder and the biceps tend to be irritated," said Donald Ford, a physical therapist in UD's Physical Therapy Clinic.

A key technique used in water polo and synchronized swimming is the eggbeater kick.

"It's a modified breaststroke," Ford explained. "But it's players' way of treading water and keeping an upright posture."

That can result in hip and knee injuries.

"But the most common Olympic injuries tend to occur in the head and face mostly due to collision and contact between players," Ford said. "Surveys suggest that up to a third of water polo athletes have experienced a concussion throughout their career at some point."

The U.S. women's water polo team is considered a heavy favorite, seeking its fourth consecutive gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The U.S. women's team has medaled every year since 2000, when women's water polo was introduced to the Olympics.

"Olympic-level water polo is crazy compared to the collegiate level," Salamy said. "They're total animals in the pool. I love seeing what they can do."