After coming in 8th place in the London 2012, Great Britain’s unmistakable spirit in the face of adversity has shown itself again. The GB Water Polo teams hold their heads high, announcing disappointment at the losses, but stating that they are proud of their efforts. And we’re inclined to agree with them.
The Water Polo UK team has faced more hardship than simply losing games. The teams have been underfunded for most of the year, and their performance in the games was remarkable and well played. While no victories were won, the UK water polo league, and fans, agree that it was definitely a moral victory.
Francesca Clayton, the female water polo player who scored two goals in the Olympic game against Italy had a lot to say. ”
I think if I had been asked a year ago, and someone said ‘These will be your scores’, we would have been like, ‘Yeah great, brilliant’.
But we expect so much of ourselves now, especially after coming seventh in the Europeans and beating Germany, we were hoping we could step up to beat Spain, step up to beat Russia and Italy.
We are getting close, and maybe in another year it will be GB in the top four, and that’ll be the way we’re going.”
She believes, as do many of the fans, that with the rate the GB water polo team is improving, they will be more than ready for the Rio 2016.
Women’s team captain Fran Leighton also had her bit to share,
“I’m disappointed because I’m an athlete and a sportswoman who likes to win and hates losing. Also, it feels like if someone asks how you got along and you say eighth, then people may not understand how hard we fought, and how well we actually did in some of the games. So unfortunately, the hard facts are we did lose all of our games here, but I think we’ve put forward a massive case for how far we’ve come, since London won the Olympics, how much we’ve changed. And I think it’s really promising for Rio that after this, this will be a real support for water polo going forward.”
With Great Britain winning 65 medals in the London 2012, there’s no doubt that the Rio 2016 holds bright promise for us all. And perhaps, with more funding and time to improve, the British water polo team will share in the winnings!
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