San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Americans announce presence
TOKYO — After a 17month wait, you can’t expect everything to go smoothly.
Still, it was surprising to see one of most dominant teams in the world have a hiccup at the start of its quest for a third consecutive gold medal. In its debut against Japan on Saturday, the U.S. women’s water polo team quickly found itself in a 33 tie.
“You could definitely feel the adrenaline and the excitement,” said team captain Maggie Steffens, the Danville native and Stanford alum. “We got off to a rocky start, especially defensively. But the Olympics gives you extra bit of energy and excitement, and it was nice to see our team recover and take a deep breath.”
Oh, they recovered all right. The U.S. team ended up setting a slew of Olympic records in a 254 victory over Japan. They set records for the number of goals, the most goals in a half (14 in the first half ) and the margin of victory. Steffens and Stephanie Haralabidis each scored five goals.
Those records fell later Saturday when Spain beat South Africa 294, scoring 15 goals in the second half.
“The jitters aren’t going to go away for us or any other team,” coach Adam Krikorian said. “It’s great to get a feel for them and learn how to play.
“Despite how much success we’ve had, we’re human. We get nervous like everyone else.”
The players said they felt humbled and grateful to be back playing the sport they love. Particularly thankful was Kaleigh Gilchrist, who was seriously injured in 2019 when a balcony she was standing on at a Seoul nightclub, following the FINA championships, collapsed. Two people were killed and several, including Gilchrist, were injured. She not only had to rehab from the injury but deal with posttraumatic stress.
“I thought I had perspective before that,” said Gilchrist, who scored two goals Saturday. “Now I have so much gratitude. I just try to share, with a text or a touch. I wouldn’t be here without so many people.”
Before their match, Steffens, 28, and Gilchrist, 29, took a precompetition walk. Steffens told Gilchrist how she felt the energy and spirit of all the people who supported them, even though they can’t be in Tokyo. “I can hear them without them actually being here,” said Steffens, who was about to FaceTime her family and boyfriend who had rented a house in Denver and were all up watching in the middle of the night.
Families may not be here, but they are on everyone’s mind. Steffens has created a “gratitude wall” in her room in the village, with pictures of family members, loved ones, and moments along the journey. “It helps me think about everyone who has helped me get to this stage,” she said. “All the people who have loved you and challenged you and supported you.”
“This was much fun as I’ve had in a long time,” Krikorian said. “Just coaching because you’re finally here after 15 (months) going through so much. It was so exhausting and trying to keep them all engaged. This is the time to enjoy it.”
Just days before, Krikorian, an avid Giants fan who grew up in Mountain View, goodnaturedly teased a reporter wearing a Dodgers cap about a Los Angeles bullpen meltdown against the Giants. Told it happened again to the Dodgers (against the Rockies on Friday night while his team was in the pool), Krikorian smiled.
“I love it,” he said.
The end to a very good day.