“Absolute unit on the Croatian Water Polo squad. This is what elite athletic excellence looks like,” wrote one fan after witnessing the physique of Croatian water polo star Josip Vrlic at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Most viewers are accustomed to seeing Greek god-like physiques, with muscles that seem carved out of granite, at other swimming competitions or sinewy, agile-looking competitors at sports such as running and climbing. However, excellence at water polo requires an entirely different approach.

Sporting a massive frame at 1.98 meters in height and weighing 135 kg, Vrlic is a bona fide tank of a man and has the ideal physique for his sport.

However, some netizens were quick to mistake his prominent belly and high body fat percentage for laziness, labeling him as the only “natural” athlete in the event.

“How is it possible to stay this fat while treading water for a living?” asked one clueless viewer on X, unaware of the fact that the star’s large waist is precisely what he needs to excel.

Olympics fans marveled at the “dad bod” of the Croatian water polo star after images of his imposing physique went viral on social media

Image credits: Olympic Games Paris 2024

Described by some as the “Greco-Roman wrestling” of water sports, polo requires short bursts of explosive energy, followed by periods of slower movement. Moving is as important as not being able to be moved at all, as the discipline is as much about swimming as it is about contact.

“Water polo is just such a vertical sport now body-position wise when it used to be more horizontal with counters and driving,” explained Matt Swanson, 2x NCAA water polo player of the year at UCLA and water polo coach, in an interview with Swimming World Magazine.

In the 70s, it wasn’t rare for an athlete to specialize in both polo and swimming. But as the disciplines have evolved over the years, competitors have had the need to specialize and their physiques have started to look different.

For polo specialists, mass, strength, and endurance are key.

“Players nowadays are much bigger, physical, and have the ability to shoot much better. Leg strength is critical in today’s game whether that is in defense or on the attack. This skill takes a lot of time to develop and it starts at a young age,” explained Peter Schnugg, a member of the Water Polo Hall of Fame.

Age is also a differentiating factor, as 38-year-old Josip Vrlic demonstrates. What could be a detriment in other disciplines becomes an asset when it comes to water polo.

“I often reference when I was at Stanford: a group of the top players in the country, all 20-ish years old in the best shape of our lives and we’d occasionally scrimmage the Olympic Club in the offseason: primarily 40-year-old men who weren’t in great shape but who’d played the game for much longer than us. And they’d beat us!” recounts Jack Bowen, an All-American water polo player at Stanford and Menlo School water polo coach.

The anticipation ahead of Vrlic’s match had netizens joking, laughing, and even admiring the athlete’s physique

Image credits: Olympic Games Paris 2024

“Finally, dadbod representation,” wrote one fan on X.

“Bro must be consuming insane calories. Water polo is brutal,” argued another.

“That unit probably beats you in every athletic mode possible,” a user stated.

“Most spectators will never understand the physicality of water polo. Above the water it looks like handball. Below the water line it’s like Greco-Roman wrestling,” explained a more knowledgeable viewer.

“Well, to be fair, in water polo, buoyancy is an asset,” replied another.

Image credits: cro_wp

Women, in particular, were quick to recognize the athlete’s body in ways unrelated to the sport.

“I don’t care what y’all say, this build is hot,” said one fan.

“This is literally the ideal man imo,” wrote another.

“This is the perfect man’s body,” argued one user.

“I’m in love. I need that,” confessed another.

The Croatian athlete has competed for both his home country and Brazil, which he represented at the Olympics in Rio, having started his career in the Latin American country.

Vrlic and his team are set to face Hungary in the semi-finals this Friday (August 9). If victorious, they might compete for the gold medal against Serbia, who defeated Team USA with a dominating 10-to-6 score earlier today.