{"id":653101,"date":"2026-09-09T23:33:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T06:33:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=653101"},"modified":"2026-09-09T23:33:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T06:33:43","slug":"didac-garcia-leads-spain-to-first-mens-world-aquatics-4x4-water-polo-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/didac-garcia-leads-spain-to-first-mens-world-aquatics-4x4-water-polo-title\/","title":{"rendered":"Didac Garcia leads Spain to First Men\u2019s World Aquatics 4×4 Water Polo Title"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spain Captures First Men\u2019s World Aquatics 4×4 Water Polo Title<\/strong><\/p>\n

Didac Garcia<\/strong> was the penalty shootout hero as Spain topped Russia for the gold medal at<\/a> the first World Aquatics 4×4 Water Polo Championships.<\/p>\n

Spain beat Russia, 3-2, in the first-to-3 format. Spain prevailed, 1-2, 4-3, 2-3, 5-4 before a 3-1 win in penalties. Spain lost to Serbia in penalties in the group stage, and Russia fell to Montenegro in penalties in the group stage (after beating the U.S. in the shootout to start the tournament).<\/p>\n

Russia got revenge with a 3-0 sweep of Montenegro \u2013 6-5, 8-1, 5-1 \u2013 in the quarterfinals, while Spain topped Georgia, 3-0. In the semis, Spain swept Serbia by scores of 4-1, 6-4, 6-5. Russia had to survive another shootout, besting Croatia, 3-2, 0-1, 6-4, 3-4, 2-1.<\/p>\n