LAUSANNE, Switzerland, February 25. THE teams of Greece, Hungary, Italy and Russia assured their presence at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing by finishing in the first four places of the Water Polo Women's Olympic Qualification Tournament, which took place in Imperia, Italy from Feb. 17-24, 2008.
The competition was won by Italy, current Olympic champion, who defeated Russia in the final game by 10-9. Greece, the silver medalist at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, finished in fourth, after losing the bronze-medal game with Hungary by 11-10 (9-9 at the end of the regular time).
The other teams participating in the tournament were: Canada (5th), Spain (6th), Kazakhstan (7th), Germany (8th), Cuba (9th), Puerto Rico (10th), Brazil (11th) and Czech Republic (12th).
The four first teams in Imperia will join in Beijing the squads previously qualified for the Games: Australia, China, Netherlands and USA.
The draw for the eight-team Olympic tournament will take place on March 22, 2008 in Beijing (CHN), on the occasion of the water polo test events in the Chinese capital.
Special thanks to FINA for contributing this report.