{"id":485872,"date":"2021-08-25T12:22:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T19:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=485872"},"modified":"2021-08-25T12:22:00","modified_gmt":"2021-08-25T19:22:00","slug":"mamba-mission-water-polo-gold-medalist-kaleigh-gilchrist-on-kobe-bryant-connection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/mamba-mission-water-polo-gold-medalist-kaleigh-gilchrist-on-kobe-bryant-connection\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Mamba Mission\u2019: Water Polo Gold Medalist Kaleigh Gilchrist on Kobe Bryant Connection"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Mamba Mission\u2019: Water Polo Gold Medalist Kaleigh Gilchrist on Kobe Bryant Connection<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s plenty to say about the journey that U.S. women\u2019s water polo player Kaleigh Gilchrist<\/strong> has been on in her career.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s won a pair of gold medals, including at the Tokyo Olympics weeks ago<\/a>, around a career as a professional surfer. She suffered severe injuries in a deck collapse in 2019 that killed two people<\/a>. She recovered from that challenge to make the Tokyo Olympics, where he father had competed 57 years earlier<\/a>, around a one-year postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

But one aspect of Gilchrist\u2019s journey less remarked upon is her connection to another famous athlete who helped her return to the pool: Kobe Bryant<\/strong>. She re-shared the story on social media this week, with a new end point, to mark what would\u2019ve been the late basketball star\u2019s 43rd birthday on Monday.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Kaleigh Gilchrist (@kaleighgilchrist)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n