USWNT captain Lindsey Horan once said it was a hobby for her to overcome adversities. However, it took her Team USA’s Olympic gold medal win to live up to those words after captaining the USWNT in the 2023 World Cup crashout. And Paris gave Horan quite the opportunities to practice her hobby. As US coach Emma Hayes claimed, Horan led from behind the scenes, while constantly being critiqued over USWNT’s midfield struggles. Yet she navigated the American squad to reclaim the top spot. Now, she has recalled the moment she heard the final whistle that tells a player they have scaled a peak.

Horan and defender Crystal Dunn recently appeared on an ESPN FC episode, donning the Olympic gold to speak about the WNT’s first Olympic win in 12 years. “I think it was like relief after that 10 minutes of out of time um it was it was such an incredible moment. It’s hard to explain, you know, as athletes you see so many players in their careers go through these moments, the ups and downs and everything,” said Lindsey Horan. As the central figure in Team USA’s locker room, Horan then said the squad’s togetherness helped them claim the long-lost Olympic gold.

Lindsey Horan was Leadership 101 at the Olympics, says legends, including Emma Hayes

Lindsey Horan, like many other USWNT peers, cut an exhausted figure during its narrow Olympic quarter-final win against Japan. That’s when fans called out Emma Hayes for not substituting Horan. Team USA’s midfield, led by Horan, also became infamous for some slip-ups which had to be covered by the Naomi Girma-led back-line. Emma Hayes, however, called the world’s attention to the 30-year-old’s off-the-pitch efforts as a leader.

“This leader beside me, you don’t see all the work she does off of the pitch. You don’t see all the conversations she has, whether it’s to help nurture a young player. Or whether it’s to settle nerves or to remind people of their confidence or to push back on the things that matter most,” coach Hayes said. Meanwhile, ex-USWNT star and 2008 gold medal winner Tobin Heath lauded the British coach for enhancing Horan’s leadership acumen.

Heath recalled speaking to Horan after the gold win and said the US captain never cared for winning the honor for herself. She put the team first, Heath added. “That was such an unlock in her leadership and almost like such a lesson. I think it was Emma. She’s been coaching her as a leader as well because Emma gets coached as well,” Heath said. Indeed, the US skipper has efficiently overcome adversities to prepare herself for the 2027 World Cup.