Natalie Golda - Olympics and International

Olympics and International

Golda helped the US National Team win the 2003 Pan American Games in the Dominican Republic, qualifying the United States for Olympic water polo play at the Athens Olympiad in 2004. With her four tournament goals, the US team took gold at the 2003 FINA World Championships in Barcelona, Spain. In 2004, Golda redshirted to play in the 2004 Olympic games in Athens, Greece. She scored two goals, one against Hungary and another against Australia and helped the team win a bronze medal. In April 2006, she left for Greece to play for a club team in the League of European Nations, the ANC Glyfada team.

In February 2007, Golda was inducted into the New York Athletic Club (NYAC) Hall of Fame with fellow Olympic medalists Heather Moody and Nicolle Payne. The three women were members of the bronze medal 2004 U.S. Olympic team in Athens, and are the first women added to the NYAC Hall of Fame.

Golda and fellow UCLA Bruin Jaime Hipp are members of the USA water polo women's national team, which is ranked no. 1 in the world.

Golda was one of three returning players on the USA Olympic water polo team in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In game one of the 2008 Olympics, Golda, the high scorer, led the team with 4 goals to a close 12-11 victory over Olympic newcomer China. Game two against defending gold medalist Italy ended in a draw after Italy managed to score a tying goal with only 22 seconds left in the game. The United States surged in game three against Russia with Golda scoring a team-leading 3 goals in a 12-7 defeat of Russia. In the Olympic semifinal, the U.S. women's water polo team beat Australia 9-8, with Golda scoring one goal and providing one assist. Golda scored one goal in the championship game against the Netherlands and took home the silver medal from China.

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