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Water Polo Anthropometry

In addition to being physically prepared to play water polo, it is also advantageous for players to be tall and have a long arm reach. See more about Water Polo Fitness requirements.



Water polo players are usually tall and lean, with a long reach. Some amount of body fat is not a hindrance as it can add to buoyancy in the water. The usual anthropometric measures for water polo would include height, weight, sitting height, arm span, hand span, and body fat using skinfold measures.

Anthropometry and Olympic Athletes

Here is some information from the analysis of the anthropometric data (height, weight and age) from the water polo participants at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The water polo players are much taller and heavier than the average Olympian. The measurements of swimmers is also listed for comparison.

Sport Age Height (cm) Weight (kg) BMI
OVERALL AVERAGE (all sports) 26.1 176.9 72.8 23.3
Swimming (all) 22.4 179.5 71.6 22.2
Water Polo (all) 26.8 185.6 85.4 24.5
Water Polo (females) 24.2 175.5 69.8 22.6
Water Polo (males) 28.5 192.6 96.2 25.9


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