Rapinoe, Megan (1985-…), was a professional United States soccer player. She helped the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) win a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Rapinoe also helped the USWNT win a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. The 2020 Summer Olympic Games were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2015 and again in 2019, Rapinoe helped lead the United States to FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament championships. In 2019, she was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football). FIFA is the governing body for soccer, which is called football in many parts of the world. Rapinoe also played on the U.S. World Cup team in 2011 and 2023 and the U.S. Olympic team in 2016. In 2019, Rapinoe earned the Best FIFA Women’s Player award as soccer’s best female player.
Rapinoe, a midfielder, was known for her dynamic skills as a scorer and playmaker. In soccer, a playmaker controls a team’s offense, often coordinating scoring chances through precise passing. For a discussion of soccer positions and formations, see Soccer (Players and officials).
Megan Anna Rapinoe was born on July 5, 1985, in Redding, California. She began playing soccer as a youth. In high school, Rapinoe played for Elk Grove Pride United, a team for players under age 19, and the Elk Grove Pride of the Women’s Premier Soccer League, a semiprofessional league in the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States. Rapinoe then played soccer at the University of Portland in Oregon, where she helped the team win a college national championship in 2005. She also played on U.S. national youth teams before debuting for the U.S. Women’s National Team in 2006. Injuries caused her to miss international tournaments in 2007 and 2008.
From 2009 through 2012, Rapinoe played in the Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) league and the United Soccer League’s W-League. Rapinoe also played for Olympique Lyonnais in France’s top women’s league. In 2013, Rapinoe began playing for the Seattle Reign FC (now the OL Reign) of the National Women’s Soccer League, the top tier of women’s soccer in the United States. FC stands for football club. Rapinoe played with the Reign until she retired from soccer in 2023.
Rapinoe (along with her soccer-playing twin sister, Rachael) also runs soccer training clinics and has worked with a number of human rights organizations, including ones devoted to LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) rights. In 2022, Rapinoe received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor awarded by the president of the United States.
