Brenda Villa facts for kids
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Villa at the 2012 ALMA Awards
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| Born | April 18, 1980 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
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| Residence | Commerce, California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 174 lb (79 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Brenda Villa (born April 18, 1980) is an amazing American water polo player. She is known as one of the best female water polo players ever. Brenda has won more medals than any other woman in water polo. She was even named the Female Water Polo Player of the Decade for 2000-2009.
Brenda is one of only four women to play water polo in four Olympic Games. She is also one of only two women to win four Olympic medals in water polo. She has scored more goals than anyone else in Olympic water polo history, with 31 goals. In 2018, Brenda was honored in both the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.
Contents
Brenda Villa's Water Polo Journey
Brenda Villa started swimming when she was just six years old. She joined a club team called Commerce Aquatics. At eight, she followed her brother and began playing water polo. Even in high school, she was so good that she made the Junior Olympic Team.
High School and College Success
At Bell Gardens High School, Brenda played on the boys' water polo team. This was because her school did not have a girls' team. She became a top player, earning many awards. She was named All-League, All-C.I.F., and All-American four times each.
In 1998, Brenda joined Stanford University. She took a break in 1999 and 2000 to train for the Olympics. In 2001, her first year playing for Stanford, she scored 69 goals. She was named the NCAA Women’s Water Polo Player of the Year. Over three seasons, Brenda scored an impressive 172 goals for Stanford. In 2002, she led her team to win the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship. She also won the Peter J. Cutino Award as the best female college water polo player.
Life After Playing
Brenda retired from playing water polo in 2012. After that, she started coaching. She coached water polo and swimming at a private high school for girls. She also spent five years as an assistant coach at Cerritos College. There, she helped the team win their only state championship in 2008.
Olympic and International Achievements
Brenda Villa has been a part of the U.S. national women's water polo team since 1998. Even though she is 5'4" (163 cm), she has scored many goals in international games.
Olympic Medals
Brenda played in four Olympic Games, winning a medal at each one:
- At the Sydney Olympics in 2000, she was 20 years old. She led the U.S. team with nine goals and won a silver medal.
- In 2004, at the Athens Olympics, she scored seven goals. The team earned a bronze medal.
- At the Beijing Olympics in 2008, her team won another silver medal.
- Finally, at the London Olympics in 2012, Brenda and her team won the gold medal. This was the first gold medal for American women's water polo!
World Championships and Other Wins
Brenda also led the U.S. team to many victories in other big competitions:
- In 2003, she helped the U.S. win gold at the FINA Water Polo World Championship.
- She was team captain in 2005 when they won a silver medal at the FINA World Championship.
- In 2007, Brenda scored 11 goals to help Team USA win the FINA World Water Polo Championships.
- She also won gold medals at the Pan American Games in 2003, 2007, and 2011.
Brenda Villa's Personal Life
- Brenda's parents moved to the United States from Mexico. She can speak Spanish very well.
- She studied political science at Stanford University and graduated in 2003.
- Brenda has a small tattoo of the Olympic rings on her right foot. She got it with some of her teammates from the 2000 Olympic Team.
See also
- Diversity in swimming
- List of multiple Olympic medalists in one event
- List of Olympic champions in women's water polo
- List of Olympic medalists in water polo (women)
- List of players who have appeared in multiple women's Olympic water polo tournaments
- List of women's Olympic water polo tournament top goalscorers
- List of world champions in women's water polo
- List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in water polo
- List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
- United States women's Olympic water polo team records and statistics
