Hungary’s Peter Biros gingerly moved toward the pool, dragging his left leg behind. He stopped at the edge of the water and started to remove the wrap, then decided to jump right in.

This was a celebration he couldn’t afford to miss.

Biros scored three goals, all in the first half before injuring his hamstring, and the Hungarians beat the United States 14-10 to win a third consecutive gold medal in men’s water polo.

Hungary became the first country to win three straight gold medals in the sport since Britain in 1920.

Yes, the world’s top team topped everyone again.

The Hungarians stretched their Olympic streak to 17 games, with the latest victim being an American team that surprised just about everyone by getting to the final.

They kept it close early and had it tied at 9 in the third quarter. But the Hungarians pulled away down the stretch, scoring five unanswered goals and turning a close match into a blowout.

U.S. goalkeeper Merrill Moses even got benched during the spurt. But it wasn’t all his fault. Hungary scored on three counter attacks, essentially beating the Americans across the pool and getting one-one-one shots against Moses.

It certainly wasn’t the kind of defense that got the Americans to the final.

“They are well-coached, they’ve got good athletes and they beat us,” U.S. coach Terry Schroeder said. “They beat us good.”

Nonetheless, the Americans (5-2) were content with returning to the medal stand for the first time since 1988.

The United States came to Beijing ranked ninth in the world, and many expected the team would finish sixth or seventh—the same spot it had the last three Summer Games. But the Americans upset Italy, Croatia, Germany and Serbia en route to the silver medal.

Not bad for a program that gets little national attention because the sport is so geographically confined to California and really was trying to regroup after going through four coaches in the last four years.

“It’s huge for USA water polo,” Schroeder said. “We’ve come a long way. But it’s going to hurt tonight.”

When the U.S. players walked out to accept their medals, they had their heads raised high and smiles on their faces as they cheerfully waved to the crowd.

But the real celebration was for Hungary—again.

The Hungarians (6-0-1) didn’t lose a match for the second consecutive Olympics. And for Biros, Zoltan Szecsi, Tamas Kasas, Gergely Kiss, Tibor Benedek and Tamas Molnar, it ended with their third gold medals.

No other country has accomplished that feat in water polo. The Brits had three players win three gold medals in 1920, and two Hungarians took home two when they won gold in 1952 and ‘56.

But the Hungarians are in a class of their own now.

Daniel Rudolf Varga also scored three times for the Hungarians, and Denes Andor Varga added two goals.

U.S. captain Tony Azevedo led the Americans with four goals on 4-of-5 shooting, but his teammates were a combined 6-of-23 in the water. And Moses couldn’t bail them out this time around.

The goalie played so well in recent games and was the star in a 10-5 victory over Serbia in the semifinals.

But he struggled from the start Sunday, giving up three goals from outside the 5-meter area, including a lob shot that landed just over his outstretched hand.

The biggest problem for the States was power-play defense. Hungary was 7-of-10 shooting with a man advantage.

“We never got in a rhythm defensively and that’s what stopped us,” said Schroeder, a three-time Olympian who took over the team last year. “It’s painful. Painful as a coach, painful as a player. I wanted to take a swim today but I didn’t get the chance.”

Attached Images

5555.jpg (44.1 KB, 3 views)

__________________
-
-