Team captain Maggie Steffens, who also helped win gold in London, said the victory proves that US women’s water polo is going through a golden age. After carrying a 5-3 lead into halftime, the Americans put the game out of reach with a dominant third quarter, leading 9-4 going into the final period.
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Yet Krikorian’s emotions had nothing to do with joy or accomplishment. Krikorian, 42, was told on August 3, just before the Games began, that his older brother Blake had died suddenly of a heart attack in California. According to the San Mateo County Coroner, he had gone paddle-boarding and died of a heart attack.
“It was hitting me pretty hard at the end of the game”.
But it’s a journey Krikorian insisted on finishing.
US men and women have won gold medals in nine different sports so far during the Rio Games, but in no other sport has their performance been so dominating. The Italian team however was outmatched on both sides of the pool team and never had a chance in this gold medal match.
“It was all worth it, every moment, every doubt that I had, every tear, everything was worth it”, she said. “These girls have worked so hard for four years”. Some have worked their entire lives for this moment. “Who am I to ruin that for them?” I looked over and my first thought was ‘who’s this good looking woman calling my name?’ She came a little closer and I realized it was my wife. The opposition scored 10 or more goals exactly three times all season against the US, while the Americans scored at least 10 goals on 36 occasions.
The Americans’ offensive depth was also on display as eight different players scored Friday afternoon, with Kiley Neushul’s three goals leading the way.
Melissa Seidemann, one of the team’s four two-time Olympians, also scored while dealing with emotions of her own.
Russian Federation won the bronze medal game, 19-18, by edging Hungary in a 7-6 edge in a shootout.
“He is going through a really tough time right now”.
The low-key Johnson, 21, who attends Princeton, said she had not played the way she would have liked early in the tournament. We knew very well there is a big difference (between us), but perhaps not as big as today’s score suggests. Friday’s win ran the Americans’ season record to 40-2 and their winning streak to 21 games.
Asked whether this team is the best in history, Krikorian finally let a smile crease his face. I think I need to figure that out.
You could also make an argument that the team, with an average age of 23, hasn’t peaked yet. Nine made their Olympic debut last week.
Krikorian, 42, hasn’t decided whether he’ll stick around to see how it all works out.
Russian Federation is bringing home its first Olympic women’s water polo medal since 2000.
“Everything the last three weeks, it’s been a whirlwind”, he said.
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“I don’t really know how to express myself fully right now, but it’s really cool”, said hero of the hour Simanovich after collecting her medal, while Hungary coach Attila Biro put on a fearless face after their latest Olympic disappointment: “We are happy we belong to the top four sides here at the Olympic Games, but we feel disappointment because we had the medal in our hand”. I started so young. “I nearly feel today we need to mourn”.
