Xavier García (water polo)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is García and the second or maternal family name is Gadea.

Xavier García Gadea (born 5 January 1984) is a Spanish-Croatian water polo player. He was a member of the Spain national team between 1999 and 2013, finishing in sixth place at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, fifth at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and sixth again at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.^[1] In 2003, García, then playing for CN Barcelona-Noferthe, ended up in fifth place with the national side at the 2003 World Aquatics Championships in his home town of Barcelona.

Xavier García
Personal information
Full name	Xavier García Gadea
Born	(1984-01-05) 5 January 1984 (age 40) Barcelona, Spain
Nationality	Spanish/Croatian
Height	1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight	92 kg (203 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Handedness	Left
Senior clubs
Years	Team
2003–2005	Barcelona
2005–2006	CN Terrassa
2006–2010	CN Atlètic-Barceloneta
2010–2015	Primorje Rijeka
2015–2021	VK Jug
National team
Years	Team
1999–2013	Spain
2016–	Croatia
Medal record Representing  Spain World Championships 2009 Rome Team 2007 Melbourne Team European Championship 2006 Belgrade Mediterranean Games 2005 Almería 2013 Mersin Team Representing  Croatia Olympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team World Championship 2017 Budapest Team 2019 Gwanjgu Team European Water Polo Championship 2006 Belgrade Team

Since 2010, García has played in Croatia. After being left out of the Spain national team in 2013, he obtained the Croatian citizenship in 2016 to be able to take part in the Rio Olympics, facing Spain in the group stage.^[2]

Honours

CN Barcelona

• LEN Euro Cup: 2003–04
• Spanish Championship: 2003–04, 2004–05
• Copa del Rey: 2002–03

CN Atlètic-Barceloneta

• Spanish Championship: 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10
• Copa del Rey: 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10
• Supercopa de España: 2007, 2009, 2010

Primorje Rijeka

• LEN Champions League runners-up: 2011–12, 2014–15
• Adriatic League: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15
• Croatian Championship: 2013–14, 2014–15
• Croatian Cup: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15

VK Jug

• LEN Champions League: 2015–16; runners-up: 2016–17
• LEN Super Cup: 2016
• Adriatic League: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
• Croatian Championship: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20
• Croatian Cup: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19

Awards

• Member of the World Team 2018^[3] by total-waterpolo

Orders

• Order of Danica Hrvatska with face of Franjo Bučar – 2016 ^[4]

See also

• Croatia men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics
• List of Olympic medalists in water polo (men)
• List of players who have appeared in multiple men's Olympic water polo tournaments
• List of world champions in men's water polo
• List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in water polo

References

1. "Xavier García Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
2. "Xavier García, olímpico por Croacia". Marca (in Spanish). Spain. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
3. "Στην κορυφαία επτάδα του κόσμου ο Γιάννης Φουντούλης • Κανάλι Ένα 90.4". Κανάλι Ένα 90.4 (in Greek). 18 December 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
4. Vijesti: Dodijeljena odlikovanja izraz su priznanja i zahvalnosti za rad i doprinos razvoju i napretku Republike Hrvatske(in Croatian)

External links

• Xavier García at World Aquatics
• Xavier García at Olympics.com
• Xavier García at Olympedia
• Xavier García at the Croatian Olympic Committee (archived) (in Croatian)