A look at Ashleigh Johnson, a powerhouse of women's water polo

On Wednesday in Paris, the U.S. women's water polo team faced off against Italy and proved once again what a dominant force they are in the pool, cruising to a 10-3 win.

The team is two for one, so far. They were bested by Spain earlier in the week, but handily beat Greece and Italy.

And for the team's star goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson, these games have been something of a reunion. She has played professionally on both Greek and Italian teams. Now that she's in Paris, she's competing against some of her former teammates.

"It's definitely like catching up with old friends," she told NPR in June at the U.S. women's training pool in Long Beach, California. "When I'm in the game it's all edge, but they still get the jump on me and so do I for them."

She's the first Black woman to play on the U.S. women's water polo team. She made 80 saves at the Tokyo Olympics alone — more than any other goalkeeper in the women's and men's tournaments. She's considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

So how far will Johnson go in these Olympics?

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Great expectations.

When Johnson spoke with NPR earlier this summer, she was feeling confident in her preparations for the Olympics. That was in part because the U.S. team had just beat Italy in an exhibition game the day before. The score? 14 to 5.

Afterwards, head coach Adam Krikorian wanted to review some video footage of the game. The team combed through each play, catching errors and finding moments to laugh too.

The stakes are high in Paris for the U.S. women's water polo team. They've medaled at every Olympics since women's water polo was admitted to the games, in 2000.

And ever since Krikorian started coaching the team in 2009, they've taken home gold three times in a row at London, Rio and Tokyo.

Clearly, the pressure's on. And Krikorian is clear-eyed about their prospects this summer.

"I've said it before publicly, and I'm not afraid to say it. We're not as talented as we've been in the past. But this team is incredibly tight, and it's been one of the most enjoyable teams that I've had the opportunity to coach," he told NPR.

Her own perspective.

For Johnson, being competitive has always come naturally.

"I've always felt at home if I was competing just because I have a big family where it was always, like, a race to finish what was on your plate, a race to get to like the best seat in the house on the couch watching TV," she said.

Naturally, it transferred over when Johnson and her siblings began to swim competitively.

"It was like, 'OK, who's going to get this stroke best first? Who's going to be able to, like, hold that streamlined rocket ship across the pool and go the furthest?' So I wouldn't say I feel most at home in the water, but I feel the most at home when I'm competing."

Johnson is an outlier in her sport for several reasons. For one, she didn't grow up in California, or go to school there like nearly every member of the U.S. women's water polo team. She grew up in Miami and ultimately chose Princeton for her college career. So landing on the women's Olympic team took adjustment.

"It was definitely an uncomfortable transition," Johnson explained. "I didn't really have a dream to be here, because I just didn't see a pathway to be here. I didn't see, like, anyone who looked like me here, anyone with my background here, and it just seemed like a world away."

As time passed, she became more comfortable and began to understand the magnitude of her achievement for herself, and future generations as well.

"It really took me understanding the bigger context of not only our sport, but access to aquatics, the historical exclusion of people of color from aquatic spaces," she said. "And it took all of that to start writing a new history, start writing a new story, start opening up that pathway for the people who will follow me."