Russian women’s water polo team returns to the pool as protesters slam government
There has long been debate about whether sport and politics should be mixed, but when it comes to water polo in Australia it’s often difficult to keep them separate.
One of water polo’s most famous moments came at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, when Hungary played the Soviet Union just a month after Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest to suppress an anti-communist uprising. In the fierce competition of the Olympics, a Hungarian player’s eyebrow was cut open by a Soviet fist, and the “Blood on the Water” match went down in history.
In 1997, members of the Australian women’s water polo team arrived at Sydney Airport in their regalia to shame the then International Olympic Committee presidents and FINA, the world governing body for swimming, into making their sport an Olympic event in 2000. The banners and public pressure paid off: water polo was added to the program and the Australian women went on to win a famous gold medal.
On Wednesday afternoon, at the Homebush pool where Australia won the gold medal 26 years ago, another unsettling mix of water polo and politics played out as the Russian Federation team made a comeback in the Women’s World Cup finals.
Athletes of the Russian Federation, who have lost the ability to compete under their national flag since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, compete as neutrals.
However, World Aquatics’ decision in April to allow Russian athletes to continue competing under their own flag resulted in the Russian women’s water polo team meeting the Netherlands in the World Cup quarter-finals in Sydney.
This was a controversial decision, given not only that the war in Ukraine is still ongoing, but also that Russian attacks have intensified recently.
Outside the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatics Centre, a small but vocal group of Ukraine supporters waved flags, displayed images of some of the 650 Ukrainian athletes and coaches killed in the war and criticized the Australian government for allowing the Russian team into the country.
The visas of Russian athletes, coaches and support staff were approved despite warnings from Ukrainian community leaders that members of the delegation had links to sanctioned organizations, Moscow’s security apparatus and institutions linked to the country’s state-sponsored doping program.
Many players, including captain Ekaterina Prokofyeva, They are contracted to Kinef-Surgutneftegas, a club funded by the sanctioned Russian oil company Surgutneftegas, while others play for a club affiliated with Russia’s Dynamo sports association, which the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organizations says maintains institutional links with the country’s security and intelligence agencies.
AFUO also expressed concern about the employment of the team’s coach and medical staff by Russian government agencies, noting that the Russian Aquatics Federation is headed by oligarch Dmitry Mazepin, who has been individually approved by the federal government.
“This is not a sport, this is the Kremlin with water polo hats,” said pro-Ukrainian speaker Anton, who concealed his surname.
Andrew Mencisky of the NSW Ukrainian Council said it was an “outrageous example of sportsmanship” and that the vision of the women’s water polo team in Sydney had proven to be a major “propaganda victory” in Russia.
“What happened today is wrong in many ways,” he said. “These are state-directed, state-funded athletes with deep connections to the Russian military and the Russian secret service.”
Despite the heavy police presence and internal security, there were no signs of protests at the venue. Standing in front of a large screen with blue, red and white flags, Russian athletes linked arms for the Russian State Anthem before diving into the pool. The only support came from a few team officials in the stands.
But this gave Russia enough motivation to take on the Netherlands, who coincidentally were one of the first countries to boycott the Olympics when they withdrew from the 1956 Games due to the Soviet invasion of Hungary.
The world’s number 2, the Netherlands, lost 11-6 to Russia, which reached the semi-finals on Saturday.
After the match, when the Russian media representative did not want any questions to be asked other than water polo, Prokofyeva said that playing under the flag and listening to the anthem brought “great pride”.
“It is a great honor to compete on behalf of our country,” the captain said.
Coach Sergey Markoch was pleased with the big win against the strong Dutch team and said: “It was like a big feast for us because we are playing our first match in four years and this is our first tournament.”
Asked how he felt after racing under the Russian flag and listening to the anthem again, Markoch answered: “I’m glad to see our flag. [and hear] Our anthem, because we do not see or hear it for a long time. And of course a friendly atmosphere.”
When asked what he would say to those opposed to Russia playing under its flag, Markoch was initially advised not to answer, but the coach later returned the question: “I want to think about water polo and this tournament and how we will play water polo, nothing else.”
Iain Payten is senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X or email.
