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Former Newport Harbor water polo player Kaleigh Gilchrist, who helped the U.S. women’s team capture two Olympic gold medals, announced her retirement Thursday from the national team.
“Today is a bittersweet day,” she wrote on Instagram. “Eight-year-old me walked onto the Newport Harbor pool deck for the first time not knowing where this sport would take me and 24 years later I can confidently say it’s taken me places and allowed me to experience things I never imaged possible.”
Gilchrist, 32, competed in her third straight Olympics in Paris. The attacker was a member of Team USA’s gold medal finishes in 2020 and 2016.
A talented shooter and passer, Gilchrist also helped the U.S. claim four World titles.
The former USC standout will be remembered for her perseverance after suffering a serious leg injury after a balcony she was on collapsed in a night club in South Korea in 2019.
Gilchrist rose the ranks from Newport Harbor under late coach Bill Barnett, a former U.S. men’s Olympic water polo coach. She was The Register’s Orange County female athlete of the year in 2009-10 for her ability in water polo and surfing.
Nicknamed “Barrel” in high school, Gilchrist competed for the United States at the ISA world junior surfing championships in New Zealand. She went on to become a professional surfer.
In her farewell, Gilchrist thanked her coaches, teammates, family, support staff, opponents, and water polo. “Thank you for allowing me to love you as long as I have,” she wrote of the sport.
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