Kaleigh Gilchrist

Kaleigh Drew Gilchrist is an American dual sport athlete in surfing and water polo who competed in water polo for the University of Southern California. She won Surfing America titles in 2009, and 2010, and later competed professionally. She was part of the gold medal-winning US Women's Olympic water polo Team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, contributing 6 goals, and again won water polo gold at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, scoring two goals in the final round against Spain. She scored a total of five goals as part of the women's water polo squad at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris that finished fourth overall. From an athletic family, her father, Sandy Gilchrist was a former swimmer who represented Canada at the 1964 Summer Olympics and the 1968 Summer Olympics. Kaleigh's Uncle Allen Gilchrist swam for USC in the mid-60's and represented Canada in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics. Kayleigh began her athletic career in both swimming and water polo at the Newport Harbor Club around the age of eight where she began in club competition well before beginning high school. She received All-California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) First Team honors in both 2010 and 2009.

In addition to her water polo championship, she represented the US Surf Team at 5 ISA World Championships. During her High School years, Gilchrist won back-to-back Surfing America titles in 2009 and 2010, and was crowned as the best 18 and under female in America. She won another title as the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) high school champion. In 2010, she was voted the Orange County Register athlete of the year. In club sports, she trained and competed in water polo with the Newport Harbor Club team.

Olympics 2016 Rio Olympic gold medal

After graduating USC, Gilchrist joined the US national water polo team in 2014, Krikorian had played water polo for UCLA, and had an outstanding record coaching the UCLA women's team. The American women's team, defending their 2012 gold medal, captured the gold for a second consecutive Olympics with a strong 12–5 victory over Italy, who had performed well in the preliminary rounds. Gilchrist scored a total of 6 goals in tournament play at the 2016 Olympics.

2020 Tokyo Olympic gold On July 27, 2019 Gilchrist suffered a serious laceration on her leg after a balcony collapse at a nightclub in Gwangju, South Korea, requiring a total of 30 stitches to close the wound. She recovered and returned to training. After physical therapy, and focused training, she was selected for the 2020 Olympic water polo team. The 2020 Olympics being held in 2021 gave her an extra year to train.

Managed again by head Olympic women's coach Adam Krikorian, at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Gilchrist won her second Olympic gold medal in the Women's Olympic water polo competition actually held in 2021. Gilchrist had two goals in the final round against Spain where the U.S. team won, with a final score of 14-5.

2024 Paris Olympics In May 2024, despite suffering a serious injury to her leg in 2019, Gilchrist was announced as one of the members of the Team USA water polo squad for the 2024 Olympic games in Paris. The team from Spain took the gold, with Australia taking the silver, and Netherlands winning the bronze. Gilchrist scored a total of five goals in 2024 Olympic competition.

Non-Olympic international highlights In international competition, Kaleigh captured a gold medal at the World Championships in 2022, 2019 and 2015, and 2024. She won a gold at the 2015 Pan American Championships in Toronto, Canada, and the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago and won gold with the U.S. team at the World Cup in Long Beach in 2023.