And Then There Were Three: US Women Win Olympic Water Polo Gold
The U.S. women’s water polo team captured a third straight Olympic gold medal Saturday at the Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center, dominating Spain by the score of 14-5. With the win, the Americans join the British squads that won three consecutive golds in the earliest days of the Olympic movement (1908, 1912, 1920) and the great Hungarian teams from the earlier part of this century, which captured gold in 2000, 2004 and 2008.
A three-peat in anything is remarkable; just ask the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers—two American professional teams that have accomplished this feat in the last two decades. To have extended success in a sport that for women is primarily amateur and which holds its major tournament in four (or in this instance five) year intervals is nothing short of miraculous.
There’s many platitudes to be heaped on the athletes who accomplished this feat, led by Maggie Steffens, the captain extraordinaire and Melissa Seidemann, who were in the water for gold medals in London in 2016, Rio in 2016 and now Tokyo. There’s also the wave of returners from the 2016 Rio Games—Rachel Fattal, Aria and Mackenzie Fischer, Kaleigh Gilchrist, Ashleigh Johnson, and Maddie Musselman—and the five newcomers to the 2020 squad, including Stephania Haralabidis, Paige Hauschild, Amanda Longan, Jamie Neushul and Alys Williams.
But for this latest accomplishment, you’ve got to look to the coach, Adam Krikorian.
Adam Krikorian where he belongs—celebrating with his players. Photo: USAWP
As many know, Krikorian is quite familiar with success in water polo. As a player he captained UCLA’s NCAA-winning squad in 1995. He then quickly climbed the coaching ladder, signing on in 1997 as a men’s assistant to Guy Baker, taking over the women’s program in 1999 and the men’s in 2001. In a little more than a decade, Krikorian-led Bruin squads won one men’s title and a total of seven women’s titles—including five straight from 2005-09.
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When he was brought on to replace Baker, his former coach at UCLA— who Krikorian also succeeded as Bruins’ women’s head coach—as head coach for the women’s national team, USA women’s water polo was at a low point. A shocking loss to The Netherlands in the 2008 Olympic final—where Daniëlle de Bruijn embarrassed the American defense with seven goals—precipitated a loss of confidence in Baker, one of the giants of U.S. water polo.
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The 37 year old Krikorian—in his first year with the team—led the Americans to a gold medal performance at the 2009 FINA World Championships in Rome. A sixth place finish two years later in Shanghai turned out to be a mirage. Team USA methodically marched to the Olympic final in London, where they topped Spain 8-5 for the programs first-ever gold.
Krikorian and his players have not been headed since. True, they haven’t won EVERY title, but since 2013, when they finished fifth at the FINA World Championships in Barcelona, no one has beaten the Americans when it counted.
Not that they haven’t tried.
There have been numerous close calls, but a distinctive feature of the success of Krikorian’s teams has been their ability to close out tough matches. Until last month, the Americans had not dropped an Olympic water polo match in 13 years—spanning three cycles—since the loss to the Dutch in Beijing. Then, a shocking, though entirely predictable, occurrence: in Group B play in Tokyo, the Hungarian women found a way to beat the U.S.
Most noteworthy from that 10-9 defeat: a Krikorian-led team had given up a lead in the fourth period. It was the first time under his leadership that the Americans had lost a major tournament match where they led entering the final period.
[Hungary’s Attila Biro Saw a Weakness in the US Women’s Team—and Exploited It]
Clearly, given the outcome in Tokyo, the master U.S. strategist used a singular loss to his advantage. It was not a smooth path to the final—in the semifinals, Russia broke out to early 5-2 and 7-4 leads before the American stormed back for a 15-11 win.
As has been written before, there’s a ruthlessness that winning coaches must exhibit to maintain their squad’s success. Krikorian is not the prototypical aloof genius (see Scotty Bowman, who softened in his old age) but he is every bit as demanding as any coach alive. What is impressive is that he’s kept his core group together (certainly with A LOT of help from Steffens, who was born into her role as captain). Particularly through the ravages of COVID, where his team could not practice together, and with U.S. players dealing with the psychological challenge of lifelong routines indefinitely disrupted.
If you look at the cuts for this year’s American women’s team—underscored by Jordan Raney’s powerful essay on how difficult her exclusion from the 2020 Tokyo Games was—Krikorian has the luxury of depth, which he uses to full advantage.
A believer in sound fundamentals—a must in a sport as physically demanding as water polo—Krikorian also values, and benefits from, continuity. Dan Klatt has been on his coaching staff the past three Olympics; Jen Adams was part of the staff for 2012 and 2016. Chris Oeding came on board for the 2016 Games and has stayed; the fact that Krikorian is surrounded for the past decade by a staff that reinforces his philosophy is a testament to his ability to inspire, and USA Water Polo’s deep support for their most precious coaching asset.
Maggie Steffens. Photo Marcel ter Bals/BSR Agency
Having Steffens lead in the water is comparable to the incomparable Tibor Benedek, the captain and inspirational leader for those great Hungarian squads. That and Krikorian’s talent for holding fast to his most important players—Kiley Neushul retired last year but would have certainly played if the Tokyo games had gone off as scheduled. Courtney Matthewson—who won four NCAA titles with Krikorian as well as the 2008 Cutino Award as the nation’s best female collegian, was in for two golds before retiring after Rio. Kami Craig was a three-time Olympian who also retired after the 2016 games.
[Remembrances of Tibor Benedek: Water Polo Great Taken Too Soon]
After yet another Olympic win, Krikorian now has eight multiple medalist including the three each for Steffens and Seidemann. His five newcomers—all of whom are likely to return in three years for another crack at Olympic glory—suggest that an excellent outlook for more gold by one of the best Olympic coaches of all time.
The question—for another day—is what will Krikorian do now that he has again topped every mountain in women’s water polo?