Ashleigh Johnson ’17 wins second Olympic gold medal in water polo
Johnson repeats as Olympics’ top goalkeeper
Ashleigh Johnson ’17 made 11 saves, and the U.S. women’s water polo team limited Spain to only five goals in the gold-medal match as they cruised to victory, 14-5. The U.S. jumped out to a 4-1 lead after one quarter and led 7-4 at the half. In the decisive third quarter, Johnson made seven saves and the Americans scored five straight goals, enabling the U.S. to ease to their third consecutive Olympic gold medal.
Johnson, who was named the top goalkeeper for the second consecutive Olympiad, blocked 73% of Spain’s shots and finished the Olympics as the tournament leader in saves (80) and save percentage (64.5).
“She just gave us a ton of confidence,” U.S. coach Adam Krikorian said of Johnson’s performance. “When she’s back there and you see that big smile of hers, it gives you the confidence but it also relaxes you a little bit and it helped to settle us in.”
“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 winning her second gold medal. “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.”
The two-time defending Olympic champions entered the Tokyo Games as the No. 1 ranked team in the world, but the U.S. was upset by Hungary in the preliminary round, 10-9, the team’s first Olympic loss in 13 years. The squad rebounded to outscore its last four opponents, 63-26, on the way to the gold.
Johnson, the first African American woman to make a U.S. Olympic water polo team, was the first player in Princeton women’s water polo history to be named first-team All-American and third ever to be picked as All-American in each of her four seasons. She becomes 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.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images
