JOHNSON Ashleigh

General
ROLE MODEL
She has spoken of her desire to be a role model in water polo. "My role on [the 2016] Olympic team was a very important step on my mission to be a role model for young black girls and other people who want to play this sport. I want to represent the people who look up to me. Being black in a predominately white sport is an interesting experience. The most prominent thing that I can point to in my experience growing through the sport, is that it was very isolating at times. When I was younger, I got questions from other kids in the sport, parents, and even strangers asking questions like, 'Can black people float?' or, 'Black people don't swim, how come you know how?' Questions like these and other similar things implied that I didn't belong, and people like me didn't belong. That put a lot of pressure on me when I was younger to either act like race wasn't something that was part of my reality or absolutely crush the expectations that people had for me." (Olympic YouTube channel, 14 Apr 2018; nbcnews.com, 17 Aug 2020)

TIME OUT
She took more than a year out of water polo after the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, citing exhaustion as a reason for the break. She used the time to complete her studies at Princeton University before returning to the national team. "I missed the girls. I missed the competitive environment. Playing water polo here is like playing nowhere else. It's like a family, a really competitive family. When you're in it, you're lucky to be a part of it, and you realise that every day, because you get to be around these strong, amazing women." (fina.org, 06 Sep 2019)

PLAYING IN EUROPE
She played in the Greek national league for NC Vouliagmeni in the 2018/19 season, and in Italy during the 2017/18 season for Ekipe Orizzonte. (usawaterpolo.org, 31 Aug 2019)

SWIM SISTERS
She co-founded the Johnson Sisters Swim Program alongside her sister Chelsea, with the aim of introducing young scholars in Miami, FL, United States of America, to swimming. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Jan 2017; usopm.org, 01 Jan 2020)