Tokyo Olympics: Ashleigh Johnson '17 and U.S. Capture Water Polo Gold With 14-5 Takedown of Spain
8/7/2021
TOKYO – Ashleigh Johnson '17 and the United States Women's Water Polo Team captured the gold medal with a 14-5 decision over Spain Saturday morning.
It's Johnson's second consecutive gold medal and the United States' third straight overall. Only three other countries in the world can claim a three-peat, Hungary (men), Italy (men) and Yugoslavia (men).
Johnson is only the fifth Princeton athlete/alumni to be a multi-time gold medalist, joining a group featuring Karl T. Frederick '03 (shooting), Herman Whilton '26 (sailing), Nelson Diebel '87 (swimming) and Caroline Lind '06 (rowing). It's the 62nd medal for Princeton athletes at the Olympics and 19th gold medal.
"These past five years did mean a lot - and still do mean a lot - to me and to my team," said the two-time Olympic champion. "And throughout all of the adversity that we faced, we felt strong together. I'm glad that we showed up in this moment together because it's just a reflection of all of the things that we've been through and all of the love and effort that we've all individually put in together and come together as a group to show the world today."
Spain never pushed the United States. The three-time defending gold medalists scored four of the five goals in the first quarter and never allowed Spain to get closer than three the rest of the way. The U.S. led 7-4 at halftime and 12-4 after three quarters.
"Just looking at how we scored, how we blocked, every single person had a contribution to this win, had a contribution to this whole journey and that's a reflection of our team environment," Johnson said after the match. "Everyone's going to contribute, everyone's going to do their best, everyone's going to bring it in the moment that it matters, and that's just really cool to be a part of."
Johnson was incredible in the third stanza, stopping seven shots before being pulled early in the fourth frame. She led the tournament in saves (80) and save percentage (64.5) for the second consecutive Olympiad.
