But before he became all of that, though, he was a little boy on an operating table whose heart had stopped. When he was 4, he fell on a backyard fence, severing his trachea and esophagus. After being flown by helicopter to a hospital, his heart stopped beating and for 90 seconds doctors believed he was dead. Azevedo was revived, but he spent the next six months drifting in and out of comas. His parents were told he’d remain on a ventilator for the rest of his life.
After his recovery he played Little League baseball and basketball, but it was inevitable that he’d discover water polo. His father, Ricardo, was one of Brazil’s best players and has become a top international coach, heading up the U.S. national team from 2005-07 and now leading China into the Olympics. Tony hit the pool at age 8, and a decade later he made his first Olympic team before he had started college.
Now he’s 30 and in London for his fourth Olympics, with no plans to slow down. He’d love to compete in 2016 when the Games head to Brazil, the country where he was born. He remains the Americans’ best attacker and goal-scoring threat, leading the team in scoring at last year’s World Championships.
Water polo enjoys a spike in popularity every four years with the Olympics, and the U.S. squad will be contending for a medal in the 2012 Summer Games. In 2008, the Americans surprised most everyone with a run to the finals before losing to Hungary and taking silver. Hungary, who has won four consecutive Olympic golds, will be the favorite this time around, with the U.S. and Serbia leading the rest of the field.
We sat down with Azevedo to talk a little about his sport.
