There were a lot of emotional moments and situations at the Tokyo Olympics, and we chose two as the most memorable.
The first moment is after a disappointing performance at the Olympics, after their last group stage match that marked the end of the competition for China. After China’s last game at the Olympics, an emotional moment occurred. Chinese national team thanked their coach after the game and said goodbye in tears. The Chinese players bowed to Lang Ping after the game, and the legendary coach hugged each of them. Many of the girls were in tears. Lang Ping as China’s coach won an Olympic gold medal in 2016, and also won an Olympic title as a player at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. Lang Ping also led the USA national team to a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The head coach of the USA national team Karch Kiraly, showed with an emotional reaction how much this Olympic gold means to him. Kiraly and middle blocker Haleigh Washington accumulated the emotions of winning Olympic gold in one exciting interview.
Being asked to put the significance of this moment into words, Kiraly answered:
“I don’t know if I can. I’m just so happy for this team and these amazing women in this program. I told them not only are they badasses but they are now gold medalists!“
Volleyball legend Karch Kiraly has been the head coach of the USA women’s volleyball team since September 2012. He led the United States to bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics, to the title of world champion in 2014 and to winning the Volleyball Nations League in 2018, 2019 and 2021. As a player he won gold medals at the Olympics in indoor volleyball 1984 and 1988 and in beach volleyball 1996.
