U.S. women’s water polo team to win gold in Paris: Michelle Hayes and Daniele Krikorian
PARIS — The U.S. women’s water polo team came to Paris, hoping to bring home a historic fourth-straight gold medal. That’s a feat that no team had ever done before in Olympic water polo history.
This title comes under the leadership of a new coach, Emma Hayes, and a revamped roster. The team has been transformed by a trio of young players.
The powerhouse trio of Americans include the oldest of them all, at 26 years old. She was on the team that won the World Cup but didn’t get to go to the Olympics. In the months before the Women’s World Cup, she tore her left knee and had a long recovery.
The game was expected to be the final one for Brazilian star Marta, who is playing for her country. She said it was time for the team to go to the next generation.
The team will miss out on the podium for the first time since it joined the Olympics in 2000 after losing to the Netherlands in a thrilling finale on Saturday.
“They worked their butts off, they did everything they could,” coach Adam Krikorian said. All you can do is to try and make the best situation for yourself, and then you have to live with the result.
The U.S. team was ahead at the half. But the Netherlands outscored the Americans 5-1 in the final quarter of the match, and Sabrina Vander Sloot scored the game-winning goal with just one second remaining on the clock.
I felt like we came out great, but we didn’t finish the job we were supposed to do. It was a testament to Holland’s perseverance that it stuck it out all the way into the end. It just shows the importance of staying in the moment, and we weren’t able to capitalize on that today.”
The team lost 14-13 to Australia in the semifinals in a penalty shoot out. Outside of the pool, personal adversity was also a problem for the U.S.
An announcement made earlier this week by the captain that her sister-in-law had died in Paris after going to cheer on the team was met with shock and disbelief.
I am proud of the way I showed up for him even though we did not get the gold medal. “I hope he’s proud of the way that I played.”
