Today in Athens: Two for the Money

Standing on a medal platform that few expected her to be on and wearing a silver medal that probably wasn’t supposed to be around her neck, a part of Heather Moody felt gypped.

In the 2000 Olympic medal ceremonies for women’s water polo, Moody and her U.S. teammates were the only ones standing who lost their final match. And to boot, they lost the gold-medal in the final seconds against the host Aussies.

“The toughest thing was the medal stand,” Moody said. “You are the only ones there who lost. But no one except us expected us to get that far.”

Having entered the 2000 field ranked sixth, a medal was gravy. Four years later, their circumstances have changed.

Still a young program with a team comprising nearly all of Southern California’s finest, since 2000 the U.S. women’s water polo team has become the world’s best, and expected to win their first gold medal. For the first time the U.S. is consistently defeating established teams from Hungary, the Netherlands and Australia.

The United States will play Italy today in a semifinal match.

“It’s a different team now, and we have created our own goals,” 21-year-old center/defender Amber Stachowski said. “We look (at the 2000 team) and say, ‘They had that chance.’ This is a new team now, though. We have that chance.”

– Fort Worth Star-Telegram