Water polo player Konstantin Kharkov was a star of the Russian national team three years ago. But the low level of our water polo forced the boy to change his sports citizenship. Together with the Croatian national team, Kharkov won everything he could in a couple of years: the European and World Championships. There was only one gold left that the Russian did not have: Olympic gold.
Unfortunately, this time the fairy tale had a sad ending.
Dynasty
Konstantin was born in 1997 in Moscow in the family of former Soviet water polo player Vyacheslav Kharkov. Considering his father’s occupation, it is not surprising that the boy was involved in water polo from his earliest childhood.
“It was not by chance that I chose water polo, my father played it. I got interested and wanted to try it too. In the end I liked it. But still, playing water polo was my initiative; I chose this sport myself,” Konstantin said.
From the age of 13, the boy played for the Russian “Sturm”, in whose system his father worked. Konstantin’s results improved every year and in 2016 he was called up to the Russian national team for the first time.
Russian volleyball player won gold with Italy at the Olympic Games:
All medals from former Russians at the 2024 Olympics. If we had acted together, we would have taken 15th place.
In 2018, Kharkiv became the leader of the national team and moved to Croatian club Mladost. The young athlete continued to progress. In 2020, Konstantin became the top scorer of the European Championship with 21 goals, although the Russian national team was eliminated in the quarter-finals.
In 2021, the Russian national team failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. The decisive match of the qualifying round was against Croatia. Our guys lost in a penalty shootout. As a result, Russia was left without the Games for the fourth time in a row.
Konstantin Kharkov
Photo: Igor Kralj/Getty Images
Sporting dream
This moment became the final trigger for the talented Kharkiv native to change his citizenship. A month after qualifying for the Olympic Games, Konstantin joined the Croatian national team. The Russian explained his decision by his own ambitions.
“I talked about this transition quite a while ago. The defeat in Rotterdam was just the starting point. We were not at the Olympics again. For the fourth time in a row. So I decided to change my sporting citizenship: I want to fight for medals in all competitions, including the Olympics. Croatia is one of the best teams. Constantly ranked in the top 4 in all major tournaments.
Konstantin Kharkov
Photo: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
Patriotism is important and understandable. I was born in Russia and lived there for quite a long time. But you also have to take into account your sporting interests. I have a sporting dream. I can’t say that I don’t love Russia. It just so happens that in order to advance in my career I need to change my sporting citizenship. Is it impossible to achieve success with Russia? I don’t know. We haven’t been able to do it lately. We were in the top eight, in the top ten, but nothing more. I don’t know the reasons, I can’t say why, but that’s how it happened,” Kharkov told Sport Express.
And Konstantin was right. Once upon a time, the Russian national team was a major force in water polo. At the 2004 Olympics, our athletes even won bronze! But then everything went wrong and there were no more Russians at the Games.
How did Kharkiv help Croatia win gold at the European Championships?
“There is no point in holding him back by force.” The leader of the Russian national team changed his citizenship and immediately won
After serving a one-year quarantine, Kharkiv made his debut for the Croatian national team in 2022. He immediately won his first title with the team at the European Championship. The Russian became one of the heroes of that tournament: his goal in extra time brought the Croats to the final, and three goals in the decisive match helped them win. In 2024, Konstantin won the world title with Croatia.
Despite the change of citizenship, the water polo player continued to maintain warm relations with Russia. Konstantin traveled to his homeland every summer and talked with friends and parents.
Konstantin Kharkov
Photo: Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images
Collapse of hopes
Kharkiv and Croatia went to the Olympics as leaders. Konstantin’s confidence in his abilities was also reinforced by his performance in one of the strongest teams in the country – “Jadran” from Split.
And in Paris, everything went in the former Russian’s favour. The Croatians easily qualified for the playoffs and finished fourth in the group. In the quarter-finals, Croatia beat Spain (10:8) and in the semi-finals, Hungary (9:8). By that time, Kharkov had scored 14 goals.
In Paris, many former Russians won medals for other teams:
All medals from former Russians at the 2024 Olympics. If we had acted together, we would have taken 15th place.
In the final, Croatia’s opponent was Serbia. The Serbs put pressure on from the first minutes, but no matter how hard they tried, the Croats were unable to recover. In each half, the opponents led by a small margin. In the end, the match ended with a score of 13:11 in favour of the Serbs. Kharkiv scored two goals, but it was not enough. The former Russian and his team received only silverware.
Of course, Konstantin wanted to get gold, but he still ruined his dream of an Olympic medal. And let’s not forget that Kharkov is only 27 years old, which means that he can improve his result at the 2028 Games.
