Haleigh Washington helped win Team USA’s first women’s volleyball gold at the last Olympics. Now she wants another.

Name: Haleigh Washington
Country: USA
Sport: Volleyball
Previous Olympic experience: Tokyo 2021
Social Media: Instagram / X

Who is Haleigh Washington

Haleigh Washington was one of several publicly out volleyball players at the Tokyo Summer Olympics. Now she’s back, at the Paris Olympics, looking for a repeat of 2021.

In late 2020, Washington posted on X that she was bisexual. This was taken by some as her public “coming out.”

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I am not cuffing my pants because I am tall, I am cuffing my pants because I am BISEXUAL!!! I just wanna be appreciated — Haleigh Washington (@Hales__Yeah) November 16, 2020

Yet Washington didn’t see it that way. The next day she tweeted that her post wasn’t a “coming out,” as she already considered herself “out.”

Wait I’m screaming, was my tweet yesterday considered as coming out??? I always thought my Bi-Vibes were VERYYY apparent — Haleigh Washington (@Hales__Yeah) November 17, 2020

It’s been a growing trend for many LGBTQ people, and so many LGBTQ female athletes are part of that. They are just living their lives, and sharing on social media, with no big public “coming out.”

She played her college career at Penn State, where the middle blocker was a three-time first-team All-American and won the NCAA national title with the Nittany Lions in 2014.

Washington is now a professional volleyball player in Italy. At the Tokyo Summer Olympics, she was recognized as the “best middle blocker.”

Haleigh Washington at the Paris Summer Olympics

In the Tokyo Summer Olympics knockout bracket, the United States women’s volleyball team never lost a game, winning all three elimination matches, 3-0. They won the gold medal. It was the first-ever Olympic gold for the American women’s volleyball team.

Headed into Paris, the United States is ranked fifth in the world in the women’s volleyball rankings. They have their work cut out for them.

The United States has medaled each of the last four Olympics, so they will need to dig deep to keep that streak going.

Washington has been on the United States national team since 2018.

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