Water Polo, Men

The withdrawal of Hungary and Austria reduced the number of competing teams to four. After beating the Netherlands (8-1) and Sweden (8-4), Belgium met Great Britain in the final. Having drawn a bye in the first round and having received a walk-over against Austria in the semi-final, the final was the only match that Great Britain was called on to play during the tournament.

In the final, Britain scored the first four goals and led at the half by 5-2. They scored four goals in the second half and shut out Belgium to win, 9-2. The final was a re-match of the 1900 Olympic final, also won by Great Britain over Belgium. Britain’s leading goal scorer, George Wilkinson, had played on the winning team in 1900 and for the Belgians, Fernand Feyaerts and Oscar Grégoire had also played in the 1900 final. Whereas in 1900, the British team had all hailed from Manchester, representing the Osborne Swimming Club, the 1908 team was a true conglomerate. Three of the players were from the Salford Swim Club, two from Weston-Super-Mare Swim Club, and one each from Hyde Seal Swim Club and Inverness Swim Club.