Anthony Lawrence Azevedo (born November 21, 1981) is a Brazilian-born American

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

player. He is a 2008 Olympic silver medalist and a five-time Olympian (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016). Azevedo ranks fourth on the all-time scoring list in Olympic history, with 61 goals. Nicknamed "The Savior" at one point, he is considered to be one of the best American water polo players in recent memory. He was the former captain of the U.S. National Men's Water Polo Team. He is also a graduate of Stanford University.

Early life

Tony Azevedo was born in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

, but his family moved to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

when he was 1 month old. His mother is American and his father is the Brazilian Ricardo Azevedo, a former Olympic water polo player. When he was four, Azevedo suffered a fall that severed his

trachea The trachea, also known as the windpipe, is a cartilaginous tube that connects the larynx to the bronchi of the lungs, allowing the passage of air, and so is present in almost all air- breathing animals with lungs. The trachea extends from the ...

and

esophagus The esophagus ( American English) or oesophagus (British English; both ), non-technically known also as the food pipe or gullet, is an organ in vertebrates through which food passes, aided by peristaltic contractions, from the pharynx to ...

. Although his heart stopped beating on the operating table for a period of four minutes before doctors were able to revive him, he made a complete recovery and went on to excel in

, a strenuous sport. He is 1.85 m (6 ft) and weighs 91 kg (200 lbs). During his four years at

Wilson Classical High School Woodrow Wilson High School (colloquially known as Long Beach Wilson) is an American public high school located in Long Beach, California. This two-block campus is located approximately 1.5 miles from the Pacific Ocean, across from the Recreation ...

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, his team won four

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have a ...

championships and he was named

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

all four years.

College career

Azevedo led Stanford's men's water polo team to two

NCAA championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

(in 2001 and 2002), and he represented the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. At the 2004 Olympics, Azevedo was second on the tournament's goals scored list with 15. He set a school freshman scoring record (68 goals), a single-season school record as a sophomore (95, or 3.4 goals a game) and, scored a school record 332 career goals in four years at Stanford. For each of his four years in college, Azevedo was honored as the most outstanding male player of the year with the Peter J. Cutino Award – water polo's version of the Heisman Trophy. While at Stanford, he was a member of the Alpha Pi chapter of the

Kappa Alpha Order Kappa Alpha Order (), commonly known as Kappa Alpha or simply KA, is a social fraternity and a fraternal order founded in 1865 at Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia. As of December 2015, the Kappa Alph ...

Professional career

In 2004 after graduating from Stanford University with a degree in International Relations, Azevedo signed a professional water polo contract with Bissolati Cremona (Italy) placing him among the top 10 paid players in the sport. Playing with Team Bissolati for his third season in 2006, he scored 63 goals with a 2.62 average per game. Azevedo rejoined the rest of the US men's national team at the 2007 Melbourne World Championships. Azevedo scored 5 goals of an 8–4 win by the US National Team over host country China in the opening games of the 2008 Summer Olympics. In the championship game, the USA team won the silver medal, defeated by Hungary. Azevedo played for

VK Jug Vaterpolski klub Jug ( en, Jug Water Polo Club) is a professional water polo club based in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The club was established in 1923 as part of sports society "JUG". As of the 2021–22 season, VK Jug competes in the Croatian League, ...

from

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...

for two seasons from 2008 until 2010. Since summer 2010 he's been playing for

VK Primorac VK Primorac Kotor is a professional water polo club based in Kotor, Montenegro. As of 2021–22 season, it competes in the Montenegrin League and Regional League A1. History In 2009, Primorac won the EuroLeague after defeating Pro Recco. In 20 ...

from

Kotor Kotor ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative ...

. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Azevedo was named the captain of the

United States men's national water polo team The United States men's national water polo team is the representative for the United States of America in international men's water polo. The team is the only non-European squad to win medals in the men's Olympic water polo tournament, most re ...

. Near the end of the contest against Romania on July 31, 2012, he was called for a misconduct foul and was given a red card. The USA team defeated Romania 10–8. In 2010s he played for Croatian water polo squad

Jug A jug is a type of container commonly used to hold liquids. It has an opening, sometimes narrow, from which to pour or drink, and has a handle, and often a pouring lip. Jugs throughout history have been made of metal, and ceramic, or glass, and ...

from Dubrovnik.

Podcast

In 2020, he began co-hosting ''The Tony Azevedo Podcast'' with El Segundo, California stand-up comic Dave Williamson.

Personal life

The Azevedo family is a water polo dynasty. His father, Ricardo Azevedo, played on the Brazilian national water polo team and coached his son throughout his age group and high school career. Azevedo senior was Head Water Polo Coach both of the U.S. National Team and

Long Beach State University California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

. Tony's sister Cassie is a two-time All-American water polo player at Long Beach State. Cassie also plays professionally in Italy after adjusting to a congenital health condition that temporarily sidetracked her water polo career.

References

External links