Water Polo

Water Polo is a sport with documented doping cases, with 107 registered cases (0.7% of all violations). France leads in violations with 11 cases, while Cannabis is the most frequently detected substance (32 cases). The average suspension length is 18.4 months. Water Polo ranks #23 globally among all sports tracked by the Anti-Doping Database..

 
Number of cases in Water Polo Last 10 Years

Federation Internationale de Natation

Homepage: https://www.worldaquatics.com/

If you use this statistics, please credit The Anti-Doping Database

Sport Global Ranking
3,443
1,666
1,493
860
···
107
Global Ranking: #23 of 178 sports

107

Water Polo cases

0.7%

Of all violations

14,670

Total global cases
Water Polo's share of all violations 0.7%
107 of 14,670

Water Polo has the most violations in anti-doping rule violations globally, with 107 registered cases — 0.7% of all 14,670 verified cases in the Anti-Doping Database. Based on verified cases in the Anti-Doping Database.

Number of cases in Water Polo By Country
France
11
Italy
10
Canada
6
Russian Federation
6
Spain
6
Hungary
5
Saudi Arabia
5
Greece
5
Brazil
4
Australia
4
Top Country: France

11

France cases

10.3%

Of global cases

107

Total Water Polo cases
France's share of Water Polo violations 10.3%
11 of 107

France has the most violations in Water Polo with 11 registered violations, though cases are more evenly distributed globally. This represents 10.3% of the sport's 107 total cases globally.

The average suspension length for sanctioned Water Polo athletes in France is 18.4 months, shorter than the global average of 30.1 months.

Substance use in Water Polo
Cannabis
32
Cocaine
7
Carboxy THC
6
Hydrochlorothiazide
4
Ephedrine
3
Norandrosterone
3
Clenbuterol
3
Pseudoephedrine
3
Methylhexaneamine
3
Nandrolone
3
Most Detected Substance: Cannabis

32

Water Polo cases

29.9%

Of sport cases

519

Global Cannabis cases
Cannabis's share of Water Polo violations 29.9%
32 of 107

Cannabis leads in Water Polo with 32 violations out of 107 total cases (29.9%). Accounting for over one-fifth of all violations.

Globally, Cannabis has been detected in 519 cases across all sports, ranking #9 among all prohibited substances.

The average suspension length for Cannabis violations is 9.3 months, shorter than the global average of 30.1 months.

Cannabis are one of the most commonly used illicit drugs and can be found within the dried flowers, leaves or resin of the Cannabis plant. Cannabis may also be known as marijuana, pot, hash, ganja, green or weed. It is most commonly smoked but can also be eaten. Cannabis use is most commonly associated with recreational or social settings but regardless of the environment in which it is taken, if it is found in your system on competition day there are serious consequences. Cannabinoids are listed on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List since 1 January 2004. Cannabis not classified as a performance enhancing drug, but is on the Prohibited List because the drug is damaging to the athletes health. According to National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC) in Australia cannabis use can negatively impact on a person's sporting performance in a variety of ways. It is known to increase heart rate while decreasing cardiac stroke volume, resulting in diminished peak performance. It can also result in reduced sport performance through slowed reaction time, problems with motor coordination, hand-eye coordination, and perceptual accuracy. Cannabis can affect appetite and food cravings and potentially undermine body mass and nutrition. Use of cannabis could even be potentially dangerous in sports that rely on quick reactions and fast decision-making. In addition, for some people, cannabis use can cause increased anxiety, panic, nervousness and restlessness thus causing disruption to sleeping patterns. Some people may believe that cannabis use makes them sleep better and be more relaxed and less nervous before playing sport. Currently however, no research has objectively demonstrated that cannabis use results in observable increases in performance through relaxing the athlete or improving their sleeping patterns. In the term of being bad for the athlete health, smoking cannabis exposes the lungs to both carbon monoxide and tar which increase the risks of a range of health problems including respiratory tract infections, bronchitis and lung cancer. (Source: National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC), Australia, ncpic.org.au)

If you use this statistics, please credit The Anti-Doping Database

Number of Active Sanctions Ending Year for Water Polo
Gender Distribution
Male 92.5
99 cases
Female 7.5
8 cases
Analysis: Water Polo has a notably higher proportion of male cases (92.5%) compared to the global average (80.2%), a difference of 12.3 percentage points. Global average: 80.2% male, 19.8% female

About Federation Internationale de Natation

The intelligence tool for anti-doping professionals

Used by journalists, sport lawyers, NADOs and researchers worldwide for proactive strategy — not just post-case research.

 

As a subscriber you get instant access to verified, structured anti-doping case data — from hours of research to seconds:

  • Complete athlete and sanction details
    • Identity, ban periods, substances used, test type, violation information and more.
  • Verified documents and case materials
    • Access sanction decisions, PDFs and official sources when available.
  • Advanced insights and historical trends
    • Statistics across sports, countries, substances and year-by-year comparisons — for proactive planning, not just post-case analysis.

The Anti-Doping Database currently contains 14,670 verified anti-doping rule violations across all sports and all countries, and is updated regularly.