3 things to know about water polo from Kaleigh Gilchrist, a three-time Olympian for Team USA

Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. This is FTW Explains: The Olympics. During the Olympics, some of the sports can be intimidating, especially if you’re not super familiar with them. That’s OK because we’re here to help.

Team USA dominates women’s water polo on an international level, including at the Olympics. The American women have won three consecutive Olympic gold medals and are eyeing No. 4 at the Paris Olympics this summer.

So For The Win asked Kaleigh Gilchrist — now a three-time Olympian playing for her third straight gold — to share what she thinks are the three most important things for fans new to water polo to know about her sport (aside from Flavor Flav now backing the U.S. team).

1. “There’s no horses.”

2. “You can’t use both hands. You can only use one hand at a time holding the ball.”

3. “We can’t touch the ground, so we’re egg-beatering [also known as treading water] the whole time we’re swimming.”

Gotta love @FlavorFlav on the play-by-play! @ESPNAssignDesk @SportsCenter #SCTop10 https://t.co/9NBhwk1ARc

— USA Water Polo (@USAWP) July 10, 2024

That last point is one that makes water polo one of the most challenging sports ever. Treading water for a significant period of time is challenging by itself. But adding the ball, offensive schemes and defensive strategies to the mix while fending off your opponents would be impossible for many people to sustain over four eight-minute quarters.