Team U.S.A.’s Maddie Musselman Shares Source Of Her Competitiveness

Jun 27, 2024, 10:28 AM

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SALT LAKE CITY – Growing up near Newport Beach, California, women’s water polo star Maddie Musselman has wanted to be an Olympian since childhood. The two-time Olympic Gold medalist’s (2016, 2020) passion for the sport dates back to elementary school.

“Fun fact,” Musselman chuckled, “I actually wrote in my sixth grade yearbook, before I went off to middle school, that I wanted to be an Olympic water polo player.”

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The second of three girls in her family, Musselman honed her competitive instincts while playing on a coed water polo team.

“I played with the boy’s 10U coed team; I was one of the only girls. I kind of just wanted to beat them up. That was really fun for me because I feel like that’s where my competitiveness really came out.”

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A four-time All-American at UCLA, Musselman graduated with a degree in Physiological Science as the Bruins all-time leading scorer with 251 goals. She was a 2017 First-Team All-American and earned Newcomer of the Year after scoring a UCLA freshman-record 69 goals.

Musselman was named MVP at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after scoring 18 goals. She earned Women’s Total Water Polo Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022.

Follow The 2024 Summer Olympics With KSL Sports

The 2024 Paris Olympics are scheduled to open on Friday, July 29, with closing ceremonies on Sunday, August 11.

Brian Preece is a KSLsports.com insider covering the Utah State Aggies, Locals in MLB, and Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees, Beehive baseball, and Aggie athletics coverage here.

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Team U.S.A.’s Maddie Musselman Shares Source Of Her Competitiveness