Tim Hutten

Timothy Julien Hutten (born June 4, 1985) is an American water polo player who competed for the University of California, Irvine, and represented the United States men's national water polo team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics where the team won a silver medal, the first U.S. medal in the sport for two decades. Hutten also competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics where the U.S. team placed eighth. As an exceptional college athlete, Hutten won the Peter J. Cutino award in 2008, given to that year's top collegiate water polo player. Hutten was a strong swimmer, and enjoyed surfing in his early years, frequently spending time at the beach. From an athletic family that valued water polo, Tim's father Julien swam and played water polo for California State Los Angeles, though as he died shortly before Tim's birth, he was unable to see his son's remarkable achievements as an athlete.

2008-2012 Olympics 2008 Beijing silver medal Hutten participated in the Beijing 2008 Olympics in the men's water polo team competition under Head Coach Terry Schroeder, where he was instrumental in leading the U.S. team to the silver medal. Hungary took the gold medal and Serbia took the bronze. At the Beijing water polo semi-finals, Hungary, a pre-Olympic favorite, beat Montenegro 11-9, and the U.S. team, in the other semi-final, had an unexpected victory over the strong men's team from Serbia, with a score of 10-5. For the first three quarters in the final gold and silver medal match between Hungary and the U.S., both teams stayed close, though Hungary held a 9-8 halftime lead. Scoring in the opening of the third quarter, the U.S. team tied the score at 9-9, but Hungary surged ahead with five unanswered goals, winning the gold medal by a score of 14-10, despite the U.S. team making one last goal.

2012 London Olympics Continuing to compete on an elite level, Hutton again represented the U.S. in the August 2012 Olympics in London, where the U.S. placed eighth overall, Croatia took the gold medal, Italy took the silver, and Serbia took the bronze.

International competition In international competition, he was part of the U.S. National team that in 2011 won a gold medal in Guadalajara at the Pan American Games, and in both 2009 and 2011 competed at the FINA World Championships as part of the U.S. team.

Honors As noted earlier, in 2008 Hutten was a recipient of the Peter J. Cutino Trophy.