Margaret Ann Steffens (born June 4, 1993) is an American

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with t ...

player. She won the gold medal with the United States at the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Steffens set a new Olympic record for the most number of goals scored by an individual player in women's water polo at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

Early career

Steffens played water polo at Monte Vista High School and helped the team win their league championship in 2007, 2008, and 2009. She also played for Diablo Water Polo in

Alamo, California Alamo ( Spanish: ''Álamo''; meaning " Poplar tree") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Contra Costa County, California, in the United States. It is a suburb located in the San Francisco Bay Area's East Ba ...

College career

Steffens attended Stanford University, playing on the women's water polo team from 2013 to 2017. Steffens lead the team to NCAA championships in 2014, 2015, and 2017, and to second-place finishes in 2013 and 2016. In 2015, Steffens scored four goals in the semifinal game against USC, which Stanford won, 9-8. In 2017, she scored three goals in Stanford's 8-7 championship victory against UCLA, including the winning goal with 9 seconds left. In 2015 and again in 2017 she was named the MVP of the NCAA tournament. Steffens graduated from Stanford in June, 2017 with a B.S. degree in Science, Technology, and Society.

International career

Her first international appearance was at the 2009 FINA Junior Women’s World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, finishing in third place. Steffens also made her senior debut at the age of 16, at the 10th Holiday Cup in Newport Beach, California, from December 9 to 13, 2009, where she scored twice.

2010

Steffens played on the United States national water polo team which won the 2010 FINA World League Super Final and the 2010 FINA World Cup. She scored the winning goal against Australia in the final match of the FINA World League Super Final."Maggie Steffens"
usawaterpolo.org. Retrieved August 9, 2012.

2011

In 2011, Steffens helped the U.S. win the 2011 FINA World League Super Final again. In the Pan American Games, she scored the winning goal in the shootout of the final match, as the U.S. defeated Canada.

2012

The U.S. won the FINA World League Super Final for the third straight year in 2012, and Steffens led the team with 11 goals.

2012 Summer Olympics

In the first match of the Summer Olympics, Steffens scored seven goals to tie the Olympic single-game record. She scored 21 total goals in the Olympics, which set a new

Olympic record Olympic records are the best performances in a specific event in that event's history in either the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games, including: * Archery (list) * Alpine skiing (records recognized only by FIS) * Athletics (lis ...

for most goals scored in a women's water polo tournament, as the U.S. won the gold medal."Olympics: Danville's Maggie Steffens scores five goals as U.S. water polo team captures first-ever gold medal"
mercurynews.com. August 9, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2012. The gold medal Steffens helped win at the 2012 Summer Olympics was the first

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medal, men's or women's, won by the

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in the sport of water polo at an

since the sport's debut at the Olympic Games."United States women's water polo team suffer first Olympic defeat in 13 years"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

''. July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021. She was named the Best Female Water Polo Player of 2012 by FINA and the 2012 female Water Polo Player of the Year by ''

Swimming World Magazine ''Swimming World'' is a US-based monthly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'', (known ...

''.

2016

2016 Summer Olympics

Steffens was the top goalscorer at the

2016 Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

with 17 goals, as the U.S. again won the gold medal.

2021

2020 Summer Olympics

=Preliminary round

= In the first match of the 2020 Summer Olympics water polo

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, Japan on Saturday July 24, 2021, Steffens helped the USA team win against their opponent, team Japan, with a final score of 25 to 4. She tied for the spot of top scorer in the match with 5 goals.Lepesant, Madeleine (July 24, 2021)
"USA Defeats Japan By Historic 25-4 to Open Water Polo at #Tokyo2020"
''

SwimSwam ''SwimSwam'' news is a swimming news organization covering competitive swimming along with diving, water polo and synchronized swimming. SwimSwam launched as a website in March 2012 and quickly became the most-read swimming website in the world. ...

''. Retrieved July 24, 2021. Her first goal was 21 seconds after the start of the match.Hamilton, Tom (July 24, 2021)
"Olympics 2021: U.S. Water Polo makes history with 25-4 win over Japan before Spain top record"
''

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

''. Retrieved July 24, 2021. The score of 25 to 4 set a new Olympic record in the winning margin for a tournament match in women's water polo, the record lasted a few hours until Spain won over South Africa with a score of 29 to 4. In the second match of the tournament against team China, Steffens scored once and left the pool twice to receive medical attention after being cut on her nose.De George, Matthew (July 26, 2021)
"Through Twists and Turns, Kaleigh Gilchrist Follows Father's Footsteps to Tokyo Olympics"
''

Swimming World ''Swimming World'' is a US-based monthly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'', (known ...

''. Retrieved July 26, 2021."Olympics-Water polo-U.S. women bloodied but unbowed in battle with China"
''

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''. July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021. Eight of her teammates also scored goals and team USA won the match with a final score of 12 to 7. Steffens chose to play in the third match of the preliminary round of competition against team Hungary, though the blow that had inflicted a cut on her nose in the match against team China had also broken her nose.Nussey, Sam (July 28, 2021)
"Water polo-Nursing broken nose, U.S. women's team captain fights on"
''

''. Retrieved July 28, 2021. She scored one goal for her team in the match against team Hungary, bringing her within four goals of becoming the highest scoring woman in the history of water polo at the Olympic Games.De George, Matthew (July 28, 2021)
"Hungary Snaps U.S. Women's Water Polos 12-Game Olympic Winning Streak"
''

''. Retrieved July 28, 2021. Team Hungary won the match with ten goals to team USA's nine goals.Cohen, Jay (July 28, 2021)
"US women's water polo team handed rare loss at Olympics"
''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

''. Retrieved July 28, 2021. In the fourth and final match of the preliminary round matches for team USA, Steffens contributed to final score of 18 to 5 that helped the team win against team ROC.Greaney, Alec (July 30, 2021)
"Maggie Steffens Tops All-Time List in USA Water Polo's Big Bounceback Win"
'' NBC 4''. Retrieved July 30, 2021."Water polo-Days after breaking nose, Steffens breaks scoring record"
''

''. July 30, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021."Tokyo Olympics overnight: Danville's Maggie Steffens sets Olympic record"
''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pap ...

''. July 30, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021. In the match, Steffens scored her 49th goal at the Olympic Games and set a new Olympic record in the most number of goals scored by a female water player over the course of their athletic career competing at the Olympic Games."Team USA's Maggie Steffens Breaks Water Polo Olympic Scoring Record"
''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...

''. July 30, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021.

=Elimination rounds

= In the quarterfinal match in the elimination rounds of competition, team USA competed against team Canada and won in a final score of 16 to 5 with Steffens scoring three of the goals for team USA.

Omega Timing Omega SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848, the company formerly operated as ''La Generale Watch Co.'' until incorporating the name ''Omega'' in 1903, becoming ' ...

;

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(August 3, 2021)
"Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: Water Polo Women Quarterfinal Results: CAN 5 - 16 USA"
. ''

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

''. Retrieved August 3, 2021. In the team USA semifinal match against team ROC, Steffens scored three of the goals for team USA, the team won with a final score of 15 to 11 and advanced to the gold medal match against team Spain.

;

(August 5, 2021)
"Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: Water Polo Women Semifinal Results: ROC 11 - 15 USA"
. ''

''. Retrieved August 5, 2021. In the gold medal match, team USA won the gold medal in dominating fashion over Spain, 14 to 5, with Steffens scoring one of the goals for the team.

;

(August 7, 2021)
"Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: Water Polo Women Gold Medal Match Results: ESP 5 - 14 USA"
. ''

''. Retrieved August 7, 2021. The USA women's water polo team winning their third Olympic gold medal in a row was chosen by

FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

as the number five moment from the 2020 Olympic Games."Tokyo Olympics: Top 10 moments"
''

''. November 24, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.

Club career

In January 2018, Steffens signed contract with Hungarian professional club

UVSE UVSE is a professional water polo club from Budapest, Hungary, founded in 2008. It was split off from Újpesti TE, which afterwards folded. They have teams in the men's and women's Hungarian First Division. The women have won the 2014–15 and t ...

from Budapest. On May 10, 2018, she won the Hungarian Championship. In the summer of 2018, she transferred to Spanish

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winning three titles:

Spanish Cup The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

, Spanish Championship and LEN Euro League.

Personal life

Steffens was born in

San Ramon, California San Ramon ( Spanish: ''San Ramón'', meaning "St. Raymond") is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located within the San Ramon Valley, and east of San Francisco. San Ramon's population was 84,605 per the 2020 census, m ...

to Peggy Schnugg and Carlos Steffens. She is the youngest of four children (Jessica, Charlie and Teresa). Her father, a native of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, became interested in the sport of water polo after witnessing a match as a child in Puerto Rico. He played for Puerto Rico in three

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is hel ...

. Her father left the island and joined the water polo team of Berkeley, University of California where he became a three-time All-American, leading the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club team ...

to the 1977

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

championship. In 1979, he was the PAC-10 player of the year in water polo. Maggie Steffens lives in

Danville, California The Town of Danville is located in the San Ramon Valley in Contra Costa County, California. It is one of the incorporated municipalities in California that use "town" in their names instead of "city". The population was 43,582 at the 2020 censu ...

. She became interested and was influenced in the sport of water polo mainly by her father and sister, Jessica Steffens, who is also on the United States national team. Steffens became an advisor to women's sports website Just Women's Sports in 2020. She said her goal in working with the company was to increase the awareness of the number of female role models in sports.

References

External links

*
Maggie Steffens
– National Team water polo profile at USAwaterpolo.org
Maggie Steffens
– Stanford University athlete profile at GoStanford.com * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Steffens, Maggie 1993 births Living people American people of Puerto Rican descent American female water polo players Water polo drivers Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in water polo World Aquatics Championships medalists in water polo Water polo players at the 2015 Pan American Games Water polo players at the 2019 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in water polo People from San Ramon, California Sportspeople from California Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Water polo players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Stanford Cardinal women's water polo players Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics