His U.S. women’s water polo team had defeated Italy 12-5 on Friday in still another show of domination for a team that won its second Olympic gold medal in a row.
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On Friday, however, the Americans set a standard the rest of the world will struggle to meet.
The U.S.is the first team to win consecutive gold medals in women’s water polo, which has been part of the Olympics since 2000. In fact, it wasn’t much of a competition at all.
But that is when Team USA started distance itself against an Italian team that was allowing just over six goals per game in Rio.
At least Italy put up a fight, for a while.
The U.S. stuck to what has made them successful throughout the Rio Games – find offense from anyone and everyone, and shut the other team down on defense. Their first five goals came from five different players and eight players scored in all, with Kiley Neushul (three), Rachel Fattal (two) and Makenzie Fischer (two) getting multiple goals.
Team Fischer gathered at the high school pool to share the experience of watching two Laguna Beach girls on the United States women’s water polo team compete in the gold medal round in Brazil. One by one, the players draped their gold medals around the neck of grieving coach Adam Krikorian. His brother, Blake, died of a heart attack the day before Opening Ceremonies, and he flew home to California, then back to Rio.
“We dominated that game – there is no better feeling”, said K.K. Clark, one of four players on the team with UCLA ties.
“It’s incredible. It’s so unbelievable to be able to share this with my family, my friends and my coach”, said Johnson, who had transitioned from competitive swimming to become a water polo player and is the lone American on the USA national team that is not from California.
Johnson, the first black woman to play water polo for the United States in the Olympics, turns 22 next month.
“For him to pull his team together after hearing that news hours before and be able to sit down and talk to us in that situation is so telling of his character”, said team captain Maggie Steffens. Live it.’ And here is this coach who had just been through something so traumatic.
“It’s one of the best teams I’ve ever been a part of, and I’ve been a part of some really incredible teams”, Neushul said.
“It would have been selfish of me to mourn and grieve when these players have worked so hard for four years”, he said.
“It’s not about me and it’s about the team, and that has actually helped me and that’s made it actually fairly easy”, he said, “and that doesn’t take away from the love I have for my family or my brother”. They both play on the school’s water polo team. But this scene had to be one Krikorian will remember for a long time. I think I need to figure that out.
“What we did is really hard to do”, Steffens said. “That gives me some peace”.
Krikorian left to be with family, but rejoined the team a few days later.
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Numerous team’s players, he said, had trained their whole lives for a chance at Olympic gold.
