Mallory Swanson hasn’t played in an Olympics in eight years.
But on Thursday, she looked like she hadn’t missed a beat on one of the world’s biggest stages, starring in the U.S. women’s national team’s 3-0 win over Zambia with a brace. It marked her first goals in an Olympics since a breakout year in 2016 when she became the youngest player to score for the USWNT in an Olympics.
Almost poetic, when considering the journey that Swanson has taken to get back to this point.
When Swanson became a World Cup champion at the Rio Olympics in 2019, many tabbed her as the next great forward for the USWNT. But since then, injuries have derailed the career of one of the team’s best forwards. First, it was the 2020 Olympics. Injuries and at times inconsistent play led to her being left off the Tokyo Olympics roster.
She rebounded and entered 2023 as arguably the team’s best player. The seven goals she scored in a span of five games ensured that she ended the year as the team’s leading scorer. And that was despite an injury to her patella tendon last April that kept her out of the World Cup.
