Anni Espar Explained

Anni Espar
Full Name:	Anna Espar Llaquet
Birth Date:	8 January 1993
Birth Place:	Barcelona, Spain
Height:	1.80 m
Weight:	67 kg
Position:	Driver
L/R:	R
Currentclub:	CN Mataró
Currentnumber:	3
Nationalyears1:	2010–
Nationalteam1:	Spain
Show-Medals:	no

Anna Espar Llaquet (born 8 January 1993) is a Spanish water polo player who won the gold medal at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona.^[1] She also won the silver medal at the 2012^[2] and 2020 Summer Olympics.^[3]

College career

Espar joined the University of Southern California women's water polo team in 2012.^[4] As a Freshman she was named to the ACWPC All-America First Team,^[5] All-MPSF First Team,^[6] MPSF All-Newcomer Team^[6] and MPSF Player of the Week on 25 February after scoring 8 goals in her first major tournament as a Trojan.^[7]

In 2013, she won the NCAA in the longest match in championship game history.^[8] Espar scored the winning goal in the third sudden-death overtime period.^[9]

International career

Espar played on the Spain national team which won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.^[2] She scored 15 goals and was named to the Olympic All-Star Team.^[2]

In 2012 Espar was named Best European Female Water Polo Player by the LEN.^[10]

Espar joined the Sidney Uni Lions women's water polo team in 2017 winning the Australian League and ending with an unprecedented undefeated season for the Lions (23 wins and a draw in 24 matches). Espar was also named to the 2017 NWPL All Star Team.^[11]

Espar also played on the Spanish national team which won the silver at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.^[3] She scored again 15 goals and was named to the Olympic All-Star Team for the second time in her career.^[12]

Family

Espar's younger sister, Clara, is also a professional water polo player.

International competitions

• 2011 FINA Junior World Championships, Trieste, Italy, 1st place.^[13]
• 2012 Olympic Games, London, United Kingdom, 2nd place.
• 2013 FINA World Championships, Barcelona, Spain, 1st place.
• 2013 FINA Junior World Championships, Volos, Greece, 2nd place.^[14]
• 2014 European Championship, Budapest, Hungary. 1st place.^[15]
• 2014 FINA World Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, 3rd place.^[16]
• 2016 FINA World League, Shanghai, China, 2nd place.^[17]
• 2017 FINA World Championships, Budapest, Hungary, 2nd place.^[18]
• 2018 LEN Europa Cup, Pontevedra, Spain, 3rd place.
• 2018 Mediterranean Games, Tarragona, Spain, 1st place.^[19]
• 2018 European Championship, Barcelona, Spain, 3rd place.
• 2019 FINA World Championships, Gwangju, South Korea, 2nd place.^[20]
• 2020 European Championship, Budapest, Hungary. 1st place.
• 2020 Olympic Games, Tokyo, Japan, 2nd place.

See also

• List of women's Olympic water polo tournament top goalscorers

Notes and References

1. News: . Spain wins women's water polo title . ESPN . 2 August 2013 . 11 August 2021.
2. Web site: USA Women Win GOLD! Team USA Tops Spain 8–5 In Olympic Games Final . . 9 August 2012 . USA Water Polo . 11 August 2021.
3. News: Brennan . Christine . 7 August 2021 . US women's water polo team wins third straight Olympic gold, dominates Spain . USA Today . 11 August 2021.
4. http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/w-wpolo/mtt/anni_espar_829494.html Anni Espar
5. http://www.collegewaterpolocoach.org/uploads/4/8/6/0/4860444/2013_acwpc_womens_all-american_teams.pdf "Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches 2013 All-American Teams"
6. http://www.mpsports.org/sports/w-wpolo/spec-rel/050113aab.html "All-MPSF Women's Water Polo"
7. http://www.mpsports.org/sports/w-wpolo/spec-rel/022513aab.html "USC Wins UC Irvine Tournament"
8. http://www.usawaterpolo.org/genrel/051213aaa.html "USC Outlasts Stanford 10–9 In Five Overtimes To Claim 2013 NCAA Championship"
9. https://www.ncaa.com/news/waterpolo-women/article/2013-05-12/espar-scores-third-sudden-death-secure-third-national-title- "Espar scores in third sudden death to secure third national title for USC"
10. http://www.waterpoloworld.com/News/tabid/169/ArticleId/3515/Boskovic-and-Espar-European-Players-of-the-Year.aspx "Boskovic and Espar European Players of the Year"
11. http://waterpoloaustralia.com.au/sydney-lions-claim-back-to-back-nwpl-titles/ "SYDNEY LIONS CLAIM BACK TO BACK NWPL TITLES"
12. Web site: Olympic history repeats — USA's third gold medal . . 7 August 2021 . FINA Official website . 11 August 2021.
13. http://www.fina.org/H2O/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2531:wp-juniors-women-day-7-spain-on-the-top-of-the-world&catid=214:world-junior-water-polo-championships&Itemid=895 "Spain on the top of the world"
14. http://www.fina.org/H2O/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4138:wp-juniors-w-day-7-usa-takes-gold-after-9-7-win-over-spain&catid=214:world-junior-water-polo-championships&Itemid=895 "USA takes gold after 9–7 win over Spain"
15. http://www.waterpoloworld.com/News/tabid/169/ArticleId/7273/World-champions-Spain-also-claim-European-title-Budapest-2014-day-13.aspx "World champions Spain also claim European Title"
16. http://archives.fina.org/H2O/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4703:wp-world-cup-2014-w-day-6-&catid=119:water-polo-world-cup&Itemid=695 "USA retains World Cup crown with repeat win over Australia"
17. http://www.fina.org/news/wpwl-super-final-shanghai-day-6-usa-crowned-world-league-champion-third-consecutive-year "USA crowned World League Champion for third consecutive year"
18. http://fina.org/news/day-7-womens-water-polo-usa-rolls-spain-fifth-world-crown "Day 7 Women's Water Polo: USA rolls Spain for fifth world crown"
19. https://www.waterpology.com/serbia-spain-reign-mediterranean/ “Serbia and Spain reign the Mediterranean”
20. Web site: Day 7: Women's Water Polo: USA shoots down Spain for historic sixth crown. FINA.org. 26 July 2019.