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USC Water Polo Players Win Olympic Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals In Paris
August 12, 2024 | Men's Water Polo, Women's Water Polo
Anni Espar (Spain) wins gold, Tilly Kearns (Australia) takes silver and Hannes Daube and Marko Vavic (USC) claim bronze.
USC water polo checked all the boxes in Paris, with Trojans claiming gold, silver and bronze medals at the 2024 Olympic Games. Both the men's and women's fields were highly competitive, with only one team — USC alum Anni Espar's gold medal-winning Spain — going unbeaten in Paris. Playing for Australia, current Trojan Tilly Kearns anchored the Stingers to silver for her first Olympic medal. And on the men's side, Team USA emerged with its first medal since 2008 with help from Trojans Hannes Daube and Marko Vavic, who claimed bronze medals with the United States. In all, USC had 14 Trojans in action in Paris, with seven men and seven women in the mix. Every Trojan would help their nations advance out of group play and place in the 2024 Games.
WIth USC water polo's four medals claimed in Paris, USC as a whole has won at least seven gold medals in every summer Olympics since Atlanta in 1996, and also has won 10 or more total medals in every Games in that same span. USC's total medal count since 1904 now stands at 341 (160 silver, 100 silver, 81 bronze), and Trojans have won at least one gold medal in every summer Olympics since 1912. USC continues to lead all U.S. universities in total Olympic medals won and in the number of total Olympians, now with 546 from 1904-2024.
USC's Olympic men's water polo history dates back to 1928, with Trojans featuring in the past seven consecutive Games from 2000-2024. WIth Daube and Vavic's work in Paris, USC men have now won two gold, two silver and two bronze medals.
Kearns is USC's first Australian Olympian, now with two Games under her belt as she is set to return to campus for the coming women's 2025 season at USC. A four-time Olympian, Espar has added gold to her two silver medals won in 2012 and 2020.
With seven men on the list, USC matched its program record of seven male Olympians competing in a single Games, first achieved in 1956. Four of those Trojans represented Australia — Blake Edwards, Lachlan Edwards, Jacob Mercep and Nic Porter — which finished eighth overall while picking up a landmark win in group play over eventual champion Serbia. The Edwards brothers were making their second Olympic appearance, joined this year by fellow former Trojans Mercep and Porter, who were teammates on USC's 2018 NCAA championship team. Team USA had two repeat Trojan Olympians in Hannes Daube and Marko Vavic, who also teamed up as Trojans for USC's 2018 national championship and who now have laid claim to bronze medals in 2024. Olympic veteran Kostas Genidounias, who won silver with Greece in 2020 and collected three NCAA championships during his time at Troy, was back for his third Olympic Games, with Greece finishing fifth in Paris.
On the women's side, five Women of Troy were returning to the Olympic scene, joined by first-timers Verica Bakoc (Canada) and incoming Trojan Emily Ausmus (USA). The youngest athlete on the Team USA roster for 2024, Ausmus was joined by Olympic veteran and two-time gold medalist Kaleigh Gilchrist, who was the eldest member of this 2024 U.S. team. A 2013 NCAA champion as a Trojan, Gilchrist was competing in her third Games, with a third Trojan — goalie Amanda Longan — capped up for the USA for her second Games. Longan was a two-time NCAA champion at USC (2016 & 2018), having played alongside another two-time Olympian in Canada's Hayley McKelvey for those two NCAA titles.
This year, McKelvey had another two-time national champion Trojan in the water with her, as Verica Bakoc made her Olympic debut with Canada after helping USC win NCAA crowns in 2018 and 2021. The United States finished in fourth place in Paris, missing the podium for the first time. Canada finished eighth overall.
Back for more with her Australia squad was Kearns, a current USC student who made her second trip to the Olympic Games with the Aussie Stingers. The true veteran of the USC women's contingent is Spain's Espar, a 2013 NCAA champion as a Trojan who was competing in her fourth Olympic Games.
In addition to the 14 Trojans in the pool in Paris, USC had two other members of the Trojan Family on deck at the Games. USC alum Jenn McCall was a referee for the water polo competition in her first appearance as an Olympic official. On the microphone for the in-arena public address for his second Olympic Games was Mark Cousineau, father of former USC women's water polo players Mary and Alaina and longtime PA announcer for USC water polo home games.
USC WATER POLO'S 2024 OLYMPIANS
Australia - Women (SILVER)
Tilly Kearns^
Australia - Men (8th)
Blake Edwards
Lachlan Edwards
Jacob Mercep*
Nic Porter*
Canada - Women (8th)
Verica Bakoc*
Hayley McKelvey
Greece - Men (5th)
Kostas Genidounias
Spain - Women (GOLD)
Anni Espar
USA - Women (4th)
Emily Ausmus%*
Kaleigh Gilchrist
Amanda Longan
USA - Men (BRONZE)
Hannes Daube
Marko Vavic
^ — current USC student-athlete
% — incoming USC student-athlete
* — first-time Olympian
USC WATER POLO IN PARIS — BY THE NUMBERS:
10 have been members of NCAA Championship teams at USC
In all, USC's 2024 Olympians have 15 NCAA Championship rings among them
4 were first-time Olympians (Ausmus, Bakoc, Mercep, Porter)
2 will be USC student-athletes in 2024-25 (Ausmus, Kearns)
6 were selected as Cutino Award finalists as a Trojan
2 were named National Player of the Year and Cutino Award Winner as a Trojan (Genidounias, Longan)
4 of the 10 repeat Olympians have already won medals (Espar, Genidounias, Gilchrist, Longan)
With 2 goalies competing in Paris (Longan & Porter), USC marks the fifth straight Games with at least one Trojan Olympic goalie.
USC's 7 men competing in Paris matches a program record set in 1956
5 different nations were represented by Trojans in 2024
WIth USC water polo's four medals claimed in Paris, USC as a whole has won at least seven gold medals in every summer Olympics since Atlanta in 1996, and also has won 10 or more total medals in every Games in that same span. USC's total medal count since 1904 now stands at 341 (160 silver, 100 silver, 81 bronze), and Trojans have won at least one gold medal in every summer Olympics since 1912. USC continues to lead all U.S. universities in total Olympic medals won and in the number of total Olympians, now with 546 from 1904-2024.
USC's Olympic men's water polo history dates back to 1928, with Trojans featuring in the past seven consecutive Games from 2000-2024. WIth Daube and Vavic's work in Paris, USC men have now won two gold, two silver and two bronze medals.
In reaching the women's final, Espar and Kearns ensured that USC women's water polo would continue its run of Olympic gold medalists, with Trojans winning gold in 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 and now in 2024. Since women's water polo was first included in the Olympic Games in 2000, USC has had at least two Trojan medalists in all but one Olympics. In all, Women of Troy have earned a total of 21 Olympic medals since 2000.🥉Hannes and Marko bring home the bronze with Team @USAWP!#USC2Paris ✌️ #FightOn#OlympiansMadeHere
— USC Water Polo (@USCWaterPolo) August 11, 2024
📸: Jack Gruber / @USATODAYsports pic.twitter.com/vTrLGzH8n6
Kearns is USC's first Australian Olympian, now with two Games under her belt as she is set to return to campus for the coming women's 2025 season at USC. A four-time Olympian, Espar has added gold to her two silver medals won in 2012 and 2020.
The USC water polo program was represented by a total of 14 Trojans in the 2024 Olympic Games, with seven USC men and seven women representing five different nations in Paris. Ten of those Trojans were NCAA Champions at USC, and four already had Olympic medals in their collection entering the 2024 Games.A familiar face (and voice) in Paris!
— USC Water Polo (@USCWaterPolo) August 10, 2024
USC water polo's home PA announcer, Mark Cousineau is on the mic for Olympic polo action and got post-podium pics with our Trojan medalists today!#USC2Paris ✌️ #FightOn pic.twitter.com/XUcNurM2XR
With seven men on the list, USC matched its program record of seven male Olympians competing in a single Games, first achieved in 1956. Four of those Trojans represented Australia — Blake Edwards, Lachlan Edwards, Jacob Mercep and Nic Porter — which finished eighth overall while picking up a landmark win in group play over eventual champion Serbia. The Edwards brothers were making their second Olympic appearance, joined this year by fellow former Trojans Mercep and Porter, who were teammates on USC's 2018 NCAA championship team. Team USA had two repeat Trojan Olympians in Hannes Daube and Marko Vavic, who also teamed up as Trojans for USC's 2018 national championship and who now have laid claim to bronze medals in 2024. Olympic veteran Kostas Genidounias, who won silver with Greece in 2020 and collected three NCAA championships during his time at Troy, was back for his third Olympic Games, with Greece finishing fifth in Paris.
On the women's side, five Women of Troy were returning to the Olympic scene, joined by first-timers Verica Bakoc (Canada) and incoming Trojan Emily Ausmus (USA). The youngest athlete on the Team USA roster for 2024, Ausmus was joined by Olympic veteran and two-time gold medalist Kaleigh Gilchrist, who was the eldest member of this 2024 U.S. team. A 2013 NCAA champion as a Trojan, Gilchrist was competing in her third Games, with a third Trojan — goalie Amanda Longan — capped up for the USA for her second Games. Longan was a two-time NCAA champion at USC (2016 & 2018), having played alongside another two-time Olympian in Canada's Hayley McKelvey for those two NCAA titles.
This year, McKelvey had another two-time national champion Trojan in the water with her, as Verica Bakoc made her Olympic debut with Canada after helping USC win NCAA crowns in 2018 and 2021. The United States finished in fourth place in Paris, missing the podium for the first time. Canada finished eighth overall.
Back for more with her Australia squad was Kearns, a current USC student who made her second trip to the Olympic Games with the Aussie Stingers. The true veteran of the USC women's contingent is Spain's Espar, a 2013 NCAA champion as a Trojan who was competing in her fourth Olympic Games.
In addition to the 14 Trojans in the pool in Paris, USC had two other members of the Trojan Family on deck at the Games. USC alum Jenn McCall was a referee for the water polo competition in her first appearance as an Olympic official. On the microphone for the in-arena public address for his second Olympic Games was Mark Cousineau, father of former USC women's water polo players Mary and Alaina and longtime PA announcer for USC water polo home games.
USC WATER POLO'S 2024 OLYMPIANS
Australia - Women (SILVER)
Tilly Kearns^
Australia - Men (8th)
Blake Edwards
Lachlan Edwards
Jacob Mercep*
Nic Porter*
Canada - Women (8th)
Verica Bakoc*
Hayley McKelvey
Greece - Men (5th)
Kostas Genidounias
Spain - Women (GOLD)
Anni Espar
USA - Women (4th)
Emily Ausmus%*
Kaleigh Gilchrist
Amanda Longan
USA - Men (BRONZE)
Hannes Daube
Marko Vavic
^ — current USC student-athlete
% — incoming USC student-athlete
* — first-time Olympian
USC WATER POLO IN PARIS — BY THE NUMBERS:
10 have been members of NCAA Championship teams at USC
In all, USC's 2024 Olympians have 15 NCAA Championship rings among them
4 were first-time Olympians (Ausmus, Bakoc, Mercep, Porter)
2 will be USC student-athletes in 2024-25 (Ausmus, Kearns)
6 were selected as Cutino Award finalists as a Trojan
2 were named National Player of the Year and Cutino Award Winner as a Trojan (Genidounias, Longan)
4 of the 10 repeat Olympians have already won medals (Espar, Genidounias, Gilchrist, Longan)
With 2 goalies competing in Paris (Longan & Porter), USC marks the fifth straight Games with at least one Trojan Olympic goalie.
USC's 7 men competing in Paris matches a program record set in 1956
5 different nations were represented by Trojans in 2024
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