Three-time Olympic water polo player: Kaleigh Gilchrist ends career

Kaleigh Gilchristtwo-time gold medalist and three-time Olympian for the U.S. women’s water polo team, announced her retirement on Thursday.

The 32-year-old made the announcement on social media. She helped the USA win gold medals at the 2016 and 2021 Olympic Games and was part of the team that finished fourth at the recent Olympic Games in Paris.

Gilchrist wrote in part:

“Today is a bittersweet day as I officially retire from the sport of water polo. When I first stepped onto the pool deck at Newport Harbor as an eight-year-old, I didn’t know where the sport would take me, and 24 years later, I can safely say it has taken me places and experienced things I never thought possible. To the sport of water polo: thank you for letting me love you for so long, and for loving me in moments when I didn’t love you back. You allowed me to be a part of something so much bigger than myself. To my teammates, coaches, support staff, fans, my family: I can never thank you enough for making more than two decades of water polo truly incredible.”

Gilchrist will be honored at a national team friendly match on a date to be determined.

Gilchrist has won four world championships with Team USA since 2015. She previously quit the sport to compete in the World Surfing League. Gilchrist also endured a lengthy rehab after being injured in a balcony collapse shortly after the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, which left her with severe leg injuries. Her father, Sandy Gilchrist, was an Olympic swimmer for Canada at the 1964 and 1968 Olympic Games.

Kaleigh Gilchrist is a Newport Beach native who excelled at Newport Harbor High School before transferring to the University of Southern California, where she captained an NCAA championship team in 2013 and made her national team debut in 2014.

“I have personally learned never to doubt their abilities,” said the US head coach Adam Krikorian said in a USA Water Polo press release. “She has beaten the odds in many ways. Her journey over the past five years in particular has been an impressive display of perseverance, discipline and determination. She has often done the work when no one was watching and has been a leader with professionalism every step of the way. I know these skills will continue to shine on others and for the rest of her life.”