Former Doherty volleyball state champion Haleigh Washington will experience a second first impression of the Olympic games later this month. Washington claimed gold with Team USA in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, but the world looked very different back then. Held in 2021, the Tokyo games maintained the COVID-19 precautions of the time.
The Games were isolated and Washington's family could only view Team USA's triumph from watch parties stateside. The 2024 Paris Games figure to be a different affair, but one with its own set of challenges. "There were no fans in the area.
We were in a 40,000-seat arena in Tokyo and there were max 12 people at a gold medal match," she said. "And so, this (Paris) games is, while very exciting because it's my second, it's also very exciting because it's a new beast. It's my first real Olympics with fans.
...
There's just so many more logistics that I'm thinking about having to juggle. I would like to spend time with my family, but I also need to be focused on the game. So where does that kind of mindset put me in?" While the atmosphere will be different, the mission is the same as it always has been, to win.
Washington has won at nearly every level she's played. She led the Doherty Spartans to a 29-0 season and a 5A state title her junior year in 2012. She set a school record for most kills in a single match with 48.
She was twice named Gatorade Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013. Washington continued her winning ways in college capturing a NCAA t.