The Los Alamitos City Council will congratulate the U.S.A. Women’s Olympic Water Polo team on its first-ever gold medal, earned at the London 2012 Olympic games.
The Los Alamitos City Council will congratulate the U.S.A. Women’s Olympic Water Polo team on its first-ever gold medal, earned at the London 2012 Olympic games.
“Los Alamitos is very proud of the heart and dedication shown by each of the USA Women’s Olympic Water Polo players through the grueling Olympic competition,” said Mayor Troy Edgar. “It is so exciting for our small city to be home to the best Women’s Olympic Water Polo team in the world,” he added.
Los Alamitos has been home to the USA Women’s Water Polo Team since 1998. The collaboration between the City of Los Alamitos, USA Water Polo and the Joint Forces Training Base has proven to be very successful over the years. When women’s water polo competition was first introduced as an Olympic sport in 2000, Team USA won their first Silver Medal. Over the next two Olympics, the women brought home the Bronze in 2004 and Silver in 2008. Again this year, the Los Alamitos community watched anxiously as the women’s team traveled from Los Alamitos’ backyard to the international Olympic stage and finally captured the gold medal.
The road to Olympic Gold was not easy. The team defeated Hungary (14-13), tied with Spain (9-9) and defeated China (7-6) in the preliminary round of competition. With a 2-0-1 record, Team USA defeated Italy (9-6) in the quarter final round and squeezed past Australia (11-9) in overtime in the semifinal round to advance to the gold medal match. Team USA never looked back, as they overwhelmed Spain (8-5) with their resilience and athleticism to win their fourth consecutive Olympic medal and their first Olympic gold.
The USA Water Polo National Training Center located on the Joint Forces Training Base is home to USA Women’s Water Polo and is open to the public. A wide variety of programs including swim lessons, lap swim, recreational swimming, water aerobics, and water safety classes are open to Los Alamitos residents, military personnel, and civilians from neighboring communities. The opportunity for anyone of any age and ability to recreate and learn how to swim in the same pool as gold medal-winning olympians is a unique opportunity that only Los Alamitos can offer.
The Los Alamitos City Council will honor the U.S.A. Women’s Olympic Water Polo team on Monday, August 20 at 6 p.m. at the Los Alamitos City Council meeting. The community is invited to attend the meeting, meet members of the team and offer their congratulations to the players, coaches and staff.
For additional information, or to register for swim classes or other aquatic programs, please visit www.cityoflosalamitos.org or contact the Los Alamitos Recreation and Community Services Department at 562-430-1073.