Tamás Kásás

Tamás Kásás [ ˈtɒmaːʃ ˈkaːʃaːʃ ] (born July 20, 1976 in Budapest ) is a Hungarian water polo player . With a height of 2 meters, Kásás, who weighs only 90 kg, is considered the best defensive player in water polo and one of the best players ever. He took part in five Olympic Games in a row from 1996 to 2012.

At the age of six he began to play water polo under the guidance of his father Zoltán Kásás , who was second in the 1972 Olympics and world champion in 1973. In 1994 he became Junior European Champion and 1995 Junior World Champion.

In 1996 in Atlanta, Tamás Kásás won the Olympics. This was followed by the European championship title in 1997 and 1999 and the runner-up world championship title in 1998. At the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000 he was Olympic champion for the first time, and in 2001 and 2003 he won bronze at the European championships. In 2003 he became world champion.

In Athens at the 2004 Olympic Games , he was elected to the All-Star Team for his second Olympic victory. At the European Championships in 2006 and the World Championships in 2007 , he finished second with the team and received silver each. At the 2008 Olympic Games , the Hungarians won the final against the team from the United States. For Kásás it was the third Olympic victory in a row.

Kásás was Italian champion in 2000 and 2001 with CN Posillipo from Naples. After finishing second in the Hungarian professional league with VASAS Budapest in 2004, he moved back to Italy and was again champion with RN Savona in 2005 and won the LEN Trophy. He has been playing for Pro Recco in Italy since the 2006/2007 season and was national champion with the club near Genoa from 2007 to 2012 and also Champions League winner in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012.

Web links

• Portrait at Reults-Beijing ( Memento from March 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
• Tamás Kásás in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )