Manuel Estiarte
Encyclopedia
Manuel Estiarte Duocastella (born October 26, 1961 in Manresa
, Spain
) is a former water polo
player from Spain. He is considered by many the best of all time.
Estiarte has played 578 times for the Spanish team. With the national squad he reached the finals at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics
on home soil.
Estiarte converted a penalty 42 seconds from full time to put Spain ahead, but nine seconds later Italy equalised and went on to win 9-8 in extra time.
Four years later, he was part of the team that made up for this painful loss by winning gold in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics
, defeating Croatia 7-5 in the final. The 1996 tournament was the only one of his six Olympics when Estiarte was not the tournament's top scorer
He won the World Championship
at Perth 1998
after finishing in second place at Perth 1991
and Rome 1994
.
Estiarte is the second Spaniard to compete at six Olympic Games, after equestrian Luis Álvarez de Cervera
. As of 2010, no other Spaniards have competed in six Olympics.
Estiarte is the first water polo player to compete at six Olympic Games. (While there is a case for Welshman Paul Radmilovic to be recognized as such, one of his appearances was the 1906 Intercalated Games, which are not considered 'official'.)
Since 2008, he has been the head of external relations of FC Barcelona
Manresa
Manresa is the capital of the Comarca of Bages, located in the geographic centre of Catalonia, Spain, and crossed by the river Cardener. It is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa are arranged around the basilica of Santa María de la Seo....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
) is a former water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
player from Spain. He is considered by many the best of all time.
Estiarte has played 578 times for the Spanish team. With the national squad he reached the finals at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics
Water polo at the 1992 Summer Olympics
The men's water polo tournament at the 1992 Summer Olympics was held from August 1 to August 10, 1992, in Barcelona, Spain. Reigning world champion Yugoslavia had qualified for the tournament, but as it had formally dissolved in the interim, it didn't participate.The successor countries didn't...
on home soil.
Estiarte converted a penalty 42 seconds from full time to put Spain ahead, but nine seconds later Italy equalised and went on to win 9-8 in extra time.
Four years later, he was part of the team that made up for this painful loss by winning gold in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics
Water polo at the 1996 Summer Olympics
The men's water polo tournament at the 1996 Summer Olympics was held from July 20 to July 28, 1996, in Atlanta, United States.-Group A:*Saturday July 20, 1996*Sunday July 21, 1996*Monday July 22, 1996*Tuesday July 23, 1996...
, defeating Croatia 7-5 in the final. The 1996 tournament was the only one of his six Olympics when Estiarte was not the tournament's top scorer
He won the World Championship
Water polo world championship
The FINA World Water Polo Championship is an international water polo tournament, currently held every two years as part of the FINA World Aquatics Championships. Currently the reigning champions are Italy in men's and Greece in women's competition.-History:...
at Perth 1998
1998 World Aquatics Championships
The 1998 World Aquatics Championships or the 8th FINA World Swimming Championships were held in Perth, Western Australia, Australia between 8 January and 17 January 1998....
after finishing in second place at Perth 1991
1991 World Aquatics Championships
The 1991 World Aquatics Championships took place in Perth, Australia between 3 January and 13 January 1991 with 1142 participating athletes.- Medals table :-Diving:MenWomen-Open water swimming:MenWomen-Swimming:MenWomen...
and Rome 1994
1994 World Aquatics Championships
The 1994 FINA World Aquatics Championships were held in Rome, Italy between September 1 and September 11, 1994.-Medal table:-Diving:MenWomen-Open water swimming:MenWomen-Swimming:MenWomen-Synchronized swimming:-Water polo:...
.
Estiarte is the second Spaniard to compete at six Olympic Games, after equestrian Luis Álvarez de Cervera
Luis Álvarez de Cervera
Luis Álvarez de Cervera, born 23 July 1947 in Madrid, is a Spanish equestrian who competed at six Olympic Games between 1972 and 1996. He was the first Spaniard to do so; as of 2010, the only other Spaniard to compete at six Olympics is water polo player Manuel Estiarte.He was part of the Spanish...
. As of 2010, no other Spaniards have competed in six Olympics.
Estiarte is the first water polo player to compete at six Olympic Games. (While there is a case for Welshman Paul Radmilovic to be recognized as such, one of his appearances was the 1906 Intercalated Games, which are not considered 'official'.)
Since 2008, he has been the head of external relations of FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....