How many Olympic medals does Megan Rapinoe have?
Arguably the greatest player of her generation, the American star turned heads on and off the field with her gutsy approach to football, life, and politics.
Whether it was the goals she scored for club and country or her fervent fight for equal pay in the women’s game, Megan Rapinoe was both a soccer star and a revolutionary. Indeed, who could forget her war with Donald Trump - then President of the United States - who openly criticized her and the women’s national team? Yet, just what is the body of work that was achieved by the now-retired goal scorer?
What did Megan Rapinoe do in her career?
When we take a look at the 17-year career that Megan Rapinoe enjoyed, it would be fair to say that women’s football as we know it today would not be. Truthfully, it was Rapinoe who was key in building an increased interest in women’s football. From her prolific play on the field to her edgy sense of fashion off of it, and her public proclamations of love for her wife, the now-retired WNBA superstar Sue Bird, it’s clear that Rapinoe brought the women’s game to the forefront of public consciousness as her career progressed.
Yet, just what did the California native accomplish since taking her first foray into football at the University of Portland almost two decades ago? Across 60 games in Division I, Rapinoe scored 30 goals which was good enough to her a first call-up to the United States Women’s National Team. From there, she would go on to make her professional debut in 2009 with the Chicago Red Stars after she was selected with the second overall pick in the WPS Draft of that year.
Unfortunately, the Red Stars would later face administration, resulting in Rapinoe becoming somewhat of a journeywoman as several teams would go on to secure her services over the years including the Philadelphia Independence, MagicJack in Florida, Sydney FC, and the Seattle Sounders. Of course, it was during that time that she made her Olympic debut for her country, participating in the Summer Games of 2012 in London and it was a beginning to remember. Rapinoe and Co. would go on to win a gold medal confirming Team USA’s status as the team to beat in women’s football.
Unsurprisingly, things only got better from there as she would sign for Olympique Lyonnais just one year later in 2013, making her UEFA Women’s Champions League debut shortly thereafter. Though her time in France only lasted 28 games, she would contribute a solid eight goals after which she joined the Seattle Reign (renamed OL Reign in 2020) in the National Women’s Soccer League where she would spend the remainder of her career. During that time, there would be two more trips to the Olympics which saw a 5th place finish in 2016 at the games in Rio de Janeiro and another medal, albeit bronze, at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, Japan. When the curtain came down on her career she had scored 52 goals in 121 appearances for the Reign and 63 goals in 203 games for her country.