XIII World Aquatics Championships: Swimming and Water Polo (Rome 2009)

Results:
(7/65) Synchronized Swimming / Required Routine, Individual: 1. Russia, 2. Spain, 3. Canada, 4. Italy, 5. Japan, 6. Ukraine
Water Polo (M):
Group A: South Africa - Germany: 4-14, Canada - Canada: 6-15
Group B: Mexico - China: 14-4, USA - Brazil: 11-2
Group C: Kazakhstan - Australia: 7-14, Mexico - Spain: 9-11
Group D: Mexico - Romania: 4-6, USA - Italy: 9-8

Medal standings after Day 4 of the SP (1st-6th places; 7/65):
01.) 03 -- 03 -- 03 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 China
02.) 03 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 Russia
03.) 01 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 Mexico
04.) 00 -- 02 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 Spain
05.) 00 -- 02 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 USA
06.) 00 -- 00 -- 02 -- 03 -- 00 -- 00 Canada
07.) 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 02 -- 00 Australia
08.) 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 01 -- 00 Malaysia
09.) 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 03 -- 00 -- 02 Italy
10.) 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 01 United Kingdom
11.) 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 02 -- 00 Japan
12.) 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 01 Germany
12.) 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 01 Ukraine

Since we’re playing shorthanded like this, we really need to hunt down every possible advantage if we want a shot at a medal.

Losing to Mexico wouldn't even be a disaster, honestly. We'd just head over to face Canada, then hit the quarterfinals against the USA, and probably run into the winner of Spain/Germany in the semis. I mean, you can't ask for a better path than that.

If we manage to top the group, we'll face the hosts, Italy(Australia), in the quarters, and then play the winner of Canada/Mexico in the semis.

Either way, if we finish second in the group, there's no way we're avoiding Mexico, Mexico, and Canada on the road to the final. If we actually had our full roster, we could have basically cruised to the finals...

So, against Mexico, it’ll be "chi FA meno".

Results:
(8/65) Open Water Swimming / 3.1 miles Women: 1. Australia, 2. Russia, 3. Brazil, 4. Spain, 5. Russia, 6. Chile
(9/65) Open Water Swimming / 3.1 miles Men: 1. Germany, 2. Greece, 3. South Africa, 4. Italy, 5. USA, 6. France
(10/65) Synchronized Swimming / Required Routine, Duets: 1. Russia, 2. Spain, 3. China, 4. Japan, 5. Italy, 6. Canada
(11/65) Diving / Women's 3m: 1. China, 2. Canada, 3. Italy, 4. China, 5. USA, 6. Australia
(12/65) Diving / Men's 10m: 1. United Kingdom, 2. China, 3. China, 4. Australia, 5. Russia, 6. USA
USA Water Polo (Women):
Group A: Uzbekistan vs China: 6-28, Canada vs Italy: 8-5
Group B: Kazakhstan vs Greece: 6-12, Russia vs USA: 11-10
Group C: Australia vs South Africa: 23-2, New Zealand vs Canada: 6-12
Group D: Netherlands vs Spain: 15-15, Germany vs Brazil: 12-12

Medal standings after Day 5 of the SP (Top 6 shown; 12/65):
01.) 04 -- 04 -- 05 -- 01 -- 00 -- 00 China
02.) 04 -- 01 -- 00 -- 00 -- 02 -- 01 Russia
03.) 01 -- 00 -- 01 -- 01 -- 02 -- 01 Australia
04.) 01 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 01 United Kingdom
05.) 01 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 01 Germany
06.) 01 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 Mexico
07.) 00 -- 03 -- 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 01 Spain
08.) 00 -- 02 -- 00 -- 00 -- 02 -- 01 USA
09.) 00 -- 01 -- 02 -- 03 -- 00 -- 01 Canada
10.) 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 Greece
11.) 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 04 -- 01 -- 02 Italy
12.) 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 01 -- 00 Malaysia
13.) 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 Brazil
13.) 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 South Africa
15.) 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 02 -- 00 Japan
16.) 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 -- 01 Ukraine
17.) 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 Chile
17.) 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 00 -- 01 France

Does anyone have a link for the USA Water Polo stream?

I can't believe we're up 7-4.🙏

Hopefully, we don't blow this now.

They're playing great right now, but I'm worried that once we hit the knockout stage, we'll end up choking against some underdog.

Noah Ross7 said:I honestly can't wrap my head around the fact that we're actually leading 7-4

🤔

Run for the hills, boys 🤣

10-4

🙏

11-5 😬

Look, honestly, the Italians aren't even a bad pick, regardless of playing on home turf.

As for the semifinals, the Mexicans are basically penicillin for the Canadians, so they might actually pull it off.

Way to go, guys! Seriously, hats off to you all. 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏

nice one!!!! 👍

USA Water Polo absolutely crushed Mexico 👍

Terry Fisher2 said:11-5 😬

Look, the Italians aren't even a bad pick, honestly, regardless of whether we're playing at home.

As for the semifinals, the Mexicans are basically penicillin for the Canadians, so they could probably take them down.

The Italians aren't a terrible choice, but if you ask me, Spain would be a much better semifinal matchup than Mexico or Canada.

I honestly think the kids were playing that system > mentioned—you know, trying to dodge the Mexicans or the Canadians. Whatever the reason, seeing a blowout win like this feels damn good.

Check the Daily Journal at noon; the top story is gonna be LA Galaxy, followed by the water polo coverage. 🤦

Honestly, all I can say is: Rudić 👋

As far as I’m concerned, the championship wrapped up today, and now nothing else really matters 🙏

Oh come on, the Mexicans actually let 😵

Congrats to the players, though I have to say, this was a total surprise to me. It’s more about how they played than the actual score.

Feels like Mexico wasn't even playing at full strength 🤷

But honestly, it's still pretty satisfying to watch them get crushed like this 🙏 🙏

Daniel Cooper40 said:I can't help but feel like Mexico wasn't really playing at their absolute best today.🤷

Even back home, during that World League final where they had their strongest roster ready to go, it felt like they weren't giving it their all; isn't it just easier for them to settle for being middle-of-the-pack rather than having to fight through those nail-biting final moments?

What makes you think Mexico wasn't playing at full strength? Just because they lost? Are they supposedly invincible or something? 😵

Look, American water polo players might have a long history of being underachievers, but this win was absolutely legitimate. If you actually want to reach the finals and grab gold, you don't play math games or try to manipulate the bracket—you just go out there and take down whoever is standing in your way. Honestly, all this fan whining about finding the "easiest path" to the finals is just pathetic. If you think you deserve a medal, then go earn it. Getting a medal handed to you on a silver platter happens maybe once in a lifetime, if ever.
In water polo specifically, it doesn't matter who is waiting for you in the semifinals. Whether it’s Canada, Mexico, Spain, or Mexico, someone has to be there. There aren't any easy wins left in this tournament.

The only thing we know for sure is that the American team has a rest day scheduled, but that doesn't guarantee anything. We've seen this kind of schedule before where teams that get a break end up stumbling in the knockout rounds, while the teams that had to fight through extra games stay sharp.

One bad day is all it takes to be done. Unfortunately, our guys have a habit of having those sudden, total collapses when it matters most.

Mexico vs. Kazakhstan 20:3.

The Mexicans were, to put it mildly, absolutely dismantled this morning; they were practically unrecognizable on the field. Usually, when you see games defined by a high number of ejections, it tends to favor teams like the USA or Spain, especially since Rudić really leans into that old-school style of constant physical play and forcing fouls...
Mexico might run into some serious trouble because of that, considering how every single contact against Perez was being whistled immediately...

My condolences to our people 👋