Water polo at the 1904 Summer Olympics

Template:Short description Template:Infobox Olympic event At the 1904 Summer Olympics, a water polo tournament was contested, with three club teams of seven players each.<ref name="HistoFINA PDF">Template:Cite HistoFINA wp</ref> A German team tried to enter, but its entry was refused because their players did not play for the same club.<ref name="1904Games OP">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The event took place in an artificial lake in Forest Park, the location of both the Olympics and the World's Fair.<ref name="SR">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Two of the Olympians died of typhoid fever soon after the competition, possibly from contamination caused by livestock at the opposite end of the lake.<ref name="1904Games OP"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Previously, the International Olympic Committee and International Swimming Federation (FINA) considered the water polo event at the 1904 Olympics as a demonstration sport.<ref name="HistoFINA PDF"/> However, in July 2021, after accepting the recommendation of Olympic historian Bill Mallon, the IOC recognized water polo along with several others as an official sport of the 1904 Olympic program.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>