KALEIGH GILCHRIST

Meet Kaleigh

Born and raised in Newport Beach, California, Kaleigh Gilchrist hit the water at an early age and never looked back. It has been the unique blend of playing water polo, surfing, and a powerful internal competitive spirit that has brought Kaleigh to where she is today. Kaleigh fell in love with both sports at the age of eight and continued to excel through her junior career. She traveled the world for surfing and was winning water polo championships in the pool. She topped off her junior surfing career with an unprecedented back-to-back USA U-18 Championship.

She followed in her father’s footsteps to college at the University of Southern California. Gilchrist was the captain of the water polo team, leading them to a National Championship in 2013. One month later, she won another championship representing USC, this time as a collegiate surfer.

Kaleigh represented Team USA in Rio in 2016, winning an Olympic Gold Medal in water polo. She continued to split time between the World Surf League Qualifying Series and with Team USA in the pool. In 2019, while celebrating the team’s World Championship, Kaleigh was in a near-death incident in South Korea. Her trainer, Larnie, dubbed her comeback “The Mamba Mission.” The rehab was grueling, but Kaleigh worked her way back to the top with a lot of support and help, including from her idol, Kobe Bryant.

Being in Tokyo and winning another gold medal was a dream come true. It meant the world to follow in her dad's footsteps and represent her country at the same Olympic venue. The victory was particularly emotional for her in the wake of the passing of Kobe Bryant and her high school water polo coach, Coach B, who were two of her biggest mentors. Kaleigh continues to balance both sports with her eyes set on Paris 2024.