The blood that turned the water polo pool red the last time the Games were held in Australia was thankfully missing today, but the shadows of Melbourne, 1956, are clearly long.

In the first water polo final of the 21st century, Hungary defeated Russia 13-6 to extend their tally of Olympic titles to a record seven, and evidently there is still little love lost between the two nations.

The Russians did not go over to the Hungarians to congratulate them in tune with tradition after the final whistle, camaraderie possibly impossible after politics had been allowed to pour into the pool at the Melbourne Games in 1956. Even after the medals were presented, there was no handshaking, no eye-contact, no Olympic spirit. More time is needed for these particular old wounds.

Three weeks before the Games of 1956, Russian firepower had crushed an anti-communist uprising as Soviet troops took charge on the street of Budapest and the Olympic water polo semi-final was a bloodbath that had to be stopped before the end. Hungary were powerless in politics but triumphant in the pool, winning 4-0, while police were brought in to quell the fighting that broke out among spectators. The Hungarians went on to win the final.

They did so again today as the Russians became the victims of a different kind of firepower, folding under the weight of a Hungary team that outperformed them on every level, even size. The 12 Hungarians averaged out at 6ft 4in and 15st 4lb; the Russians at 6ft 2in and 12st 10lb.

Man of the match was one the three heaviest in the pool, Tibor Benedek, who scored four goals but was lucky to be playing at all. Benedek was suspended for 15 months a year ago after he tested positive for clostebol, an anabolic steroid. He took his case to the Court of Arbitration in Lausanne and had his penalty reduced to eight months, allowing him to compete in Sydney. The normal penalty for such a substance is four years but the court said there were “mitigating circumstances” that explained why he had been treated so leniently.

Benedek was anything but lenient with the Russians as he shot the ball past Nikolai Maximov with maximum velocity to become the first scorer in the first of the four seven-minute periods. The Hungarian’s style epitomised just why Russia could not compete. Benedek was bigger, fitter, stronger, and despite being 16 stone, was able to rise out of the water to his hips at the moment he was ready to launch the ball like a missile from a tank.

By the end of the second period, the game was up, Hungary having taken an unassailable lead of 8-2, Benedek responsible for two goals. The third period was all about consolidation and driving the message home, and despite a spirited attack by Alexandre Erychov, one rewarded by two goals, the Hungarians extended their lead to 10-5, Benedek having taken his fourth goal at 9-3.

Russia could manage only one more goal in a final period that saw Gergely Kiss’s passionate play take his tally to three goals for the 13-6 triumph with just two seconds remaining on the clock. The Russians looked as shattered as the Spaniards they had defeated to make the final.

Champions in 1992 and 1996, Spain were well beaten by 8-3 by Yugoslavia in the battle for bronze, the score 8-3. The match marked the 601st, and last, international appearance of Manuel Estiarte, who started his water polo career for Spain 23 years ago and has one of the most impressive records in the game.