While Slovenia has never had its water polo athletes at the Olympics, three of the four men's teams that have made it to the semi-finals of the sport's tournament at the Paris Games had been preparing for the event in Slovenia's Kranj.

The indoor Olympic-size swimming pool in the regional capital of Gorenjska, northwestern Slovenia, hosted the national teams of Croatia, Serbia and the US for their training camps ahead of this year's Games.

Kranj provided the training ground for a team that went on to be crowned Olympic champion two times before. Serbia won the men's water polo tournaments in Rio in 2016 and the 2021 Tokyo Games after preparing in Kranj.

This time, the Serbian team was joined by Croatia's and the US national water polo teams for training camps in Gorenjska in late June and July.

World champions Croatia spent two weeks in Kranj, Serbia a week ad the US team underwent a few days of their final training in the city before heading to Paris.

Serbia will take on the US and Croatia will play Hungary in the semi-finals on 9 August.

The Kranj Sports Institute says the teams training in their swimming pool always praise the facilities and services available in the city and keep coming back in preparation for major campaigns.

The institute is trying its best to offer the world's best athletes excellent training conditions and, above all, the peace and quiet they need.

The teams are accommodated at Brdo, the state protocol-managed estate near Kranj, and also get pampered by Matjaž Sedej, a former Kranj water polo player, in his restaurant on the St Jost hill above the town.