Bogdan Rath (born 28 June 1972) is a Romanian and later Italianwater polo player who competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics (for Romania) and in the 2004 Summer Olympics (for Italy).[1] In June 2022, he became the coach of the Romanian national polo team and the Steaua Bucharest club team.
Player career
Romania
He won the national championship 5 times with the Steaua Bucharest team and the Romanian Cup 2 times with the Steaua Bucharest team. He ranked 4th at the European Championship in Sheffield with the Romanian National Team and participated in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics with the Romanian national team.
He started playing at the age of 8, registered since 1980 at the CSS 1 Bucharest club with which he won 2 national titles. As a junior he was selected for the European Junior Championship in 1989. At the age of 17, in 1989 he started playing in the first division at the Sportul Studențesc Bucharest club, later continuing to be registered at the Steaua Bucharest Club from 1991 to 1996 when he moved to Italy at first division club Paguros Catania, with whom he won the Cairo Comen Cup in 1996.
Italy
Club activity
1996-1998: Paguros Catania
1998-2003: Posillipo Napoli with the following achievements:
He won the Italian national championship twice in 2000 and 2001
Won the LEN Cup Winners' Cup in 2003
2 Euroleague LEN bronze medals in 1999 and 2002
During this period he was selected to the All Star Challenge world team in 1999 and 2000
2004-2005: Savona
Won the National Championship in 2005
European Cup LEN trophy in 2005
Local 2 in the European Supercup in 2005
2006-2011: Leonessa Brescia
2 silver medals in the Italian League A1 (in 2008 and 2010)
European Supercup in 2006
2012: Ortigia Siracusa, where he ends his playing career.
National team
World runner-up with the Italian national team in 2003 in Barcelona
European runner-up with the Italian national team in Budapest in 2001
World runner-up Fina World League, New York, in 2003
2 silver medals at the 2001/2005 Mediterranean Games
Ranked 8th at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games
4th place at the Fina World Cup in 2001 in Belgrade
4th place in Fukoka World Championship in 2001
Coaching career
CSA Steaua Bucharest
In only 18 months he won 2 Romanian cups and 1 Romanian super league (being declared the best coach) with Steaua and reached the quarterfinals of the Len cup.
National team coach
10th place at the 2022 European Water Polo Championship in Split.
He qualified the national team for the 2024 European Water Polo Championship in Dubrovnik.
He qualified the national team after 13 years for the world cup in Los Angeles 2023, taking 6th place, being the first coach to win with Serbia at a major competition.
After more than 10 years, he qualified the national team for the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha entering the first 8 teams at the European Championships in Zagreb 2024 and obtained the qualification for the European Championships in Belgrade 2026.
^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill. „Bogdan Rath”. Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Arhivat din original la 18 aprilie 2020. Accesat în 15 mai 2012.
