BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Princeton University alumnus Ashleigh Johnson discussed with PEOPLE magazine changing her training following the COVID-19 postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games.
To read the article on People.com, CLICK HERE.
In addition, the Cutino Award winner discusses the Polo Ralph Lauren One-Year-Out Collection, which will support the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s (USOPC) Team USA Fund.
The 32-piece collection — which was inspired by the graphic look of the Tokyo 1964 games and, of course, America’s most patriotic colors —is modeled by Ralph Lauren-sponsored athletes, including skateboarder Heimana Reynolds, surfer Caroline Marks, Johnson, Paralympian Melissa Stockwell and swimmer Nathan Adrian, among others.
Twenty-five percent of the purchase price of each unit from the collection will go to the Team USA Fund, which supports athletes in their journeys to the games — especially necessary during this extra year of training.
“The USOPC doesn’t receive any government funding,” explaine Johnson to PEOPLE. “It’s just really special that a company like Ralph Lauren would dedicate all of the dollars raised by this fund directly to the athletes and to their support.”
The money, she says, will go to things like athletes’ training, rent, gear, car payments and more. Explains Johnson, “For me it’s recovery, just things that keep me healthy, keep me safe, basic necessities.”
More information on the Polo collection is available by CLICKING HERE.
About Ashleigh Johnson: The 2019 Swimming World Female Water Polo Player of the Year and a four-time Player of the Year selection during the decade of 2010-to-2019, the 2017 Princeton graduate has been arguably the best water polo player on the planet as she helped her squad capture gold at the 2019 FINA Worlds.
One of only two Princeton athletes ever to win an Olympic gold medal (in 2016) and then come back to compete for the Tigers (Bill Bradley was the other), Johnson won the C. Otto von Kienbusch and Cutino Awards during her senior season in 2017. She was the first player in Princeton women’s water polo history to be named first team All-America and third ever to be selected All-America in each of her four seasons. Johnson finished her Princeton career with a 100-17 record, along with a school-record 1,362 saves and a .693 save percentage. She was a 19-time Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Defensive Player of the Week award winner, a four-time first-team all-conference player and the CWPA Player of the Year.
