They had come close in London and Tokyo, where they lost against the USA in the final. By defeating Australia in the final, the women's team crowned the golden age of Spanish women's water polo . 

That era stard in their first Games in 2012. They left London with a silver medal.  After it, they have been world champions (2013), World Cup winners (2022), European champions (2014, 2020, 2022). They only need the Olympic gold. 

In that time, Spain finished third in Doha and second at the European Championships last month to complete their medal tally for 2024. Spain now join Australia, Italy, the Netherlands and the United States as the women's champions of this century. 

The team is still made up of veterans such as Pili Peña, Laura Ester, Anni Espar and Maica García,  with news team-mates as Judith Forca, Paula Crespí, Martina Terré and Elena Ortiz, who already won Olympic gold and silver before she turned 20.

Miki Oca has added a gold medal as coach to the one he won as a player in Atlanta since taking over the reins in 2010.

Australia, silver medallists, started the Games with a COVID alert in the women's team. 

The Netherlands walked away with bronze, their second medal after Beijing 2008 against the United States and several Olympic Games in the desert. 

This medal adds to the 2023 World Championship and 2024 European Championship titles. The United States missed out on the podium for the first time at the start of a new era in women's water polo.

Hungary claimed their fourth win in Paris and fifth overall with a penalty shootout victory over Italy, who finished third in Tokyo and second in Doha this year. Italy failed to qualify for Tokyo 2020, finishing seventh at this year's World Championships.

On the men's side, Serbia's men's water polo team secured third Olympic gold with a 13-11 win over Croatia. Continuing the legacy of Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro and now Serbia, the nation has won a medal at every Olympic Games since 2000.

It was a hard-fought victory, with seven debutants after the mass withdrawal from Tokyo, surviving three group stage defeats, losing 5-4 to Australia and finishing a goal behind Japan. In the end, however, they won three successive gold medals to emulate Hungary at the turn of the century and become three-time Olympic champions.

The United States returned to the Olympic podium for the first time in 16 years with a silver medal. It is their ninth Olympic medal, adding to their 1904 gold, four silvers and now four bronzes.

Hungary, seventh in Doha, moved up to fourth in the world rankings a year after becoming world champions in Fukuoka. But they were unable to add it to their nine gold, three silver and four bronze medals.