A London 2012 Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion, Megan Rapinoe announced in July that she was stepping away from the soccer fields at the end of the 2023 National Women's Soccer League season.
One of the greatest legends of women's soccer hung up her cleats after a successful 17-year career and will not be representing the U.S. at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The former US Women's National Team captain says she can still remember how she felt when she joined the team for the first time: "I remember being nervous being on the team for the first time and getting my first minutes."
When not playing with the USWNT, Rapinoe suited up for several different professional soccer clubs, in many ways growing with the sport as it found its footing in America.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
Learn more about the worlds of past and future Olympic and Paralympic athletes with our Chasing Gold series
She joined the Chicago Red Stars in 2009, then in the Women's Professional Soccer league, before playing with the now-defunct Philadelphia Independence and then Florida’s magicJack. She had short stints with Australia’s Sydney FC, the Seattle Sounders and France's Lyon Women.
In 2014, Rapinoe returned to the National Women’s Soccer League with a spot on the Seattle Reign roster.
"I describe my journey as a journey. It has been long," she said.
Rapinoe was a member of the U.S. Olympic team that won gold at London 2012 and bronze at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in 2021.
"It's always special to represent your country that way, to be one of the few," the former soccer player reflected on her accomplishments.
Her soccer career started in high school, before she scored a scholarship to the University of Portland, and culminated with being the captain of one of the most respected women's soccer teams in the world.
"It's challenging in so many ways, as soon as you accomplish one thing, there is something more. You can't really rest on what you have done prior," she said.
