Kelly Kristen Rulon (born August 16, 1984 in

Point Loma, California Point Loma (Spanish: ''Punta de la Loma'', meaning "Hill Point"; Kumeyaay: ''Amat Kunyily'', meaning "Black Earth") is a seaside community within the city of San Diego, California. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on t ...

) is an American

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with th ...

player. She won a gold medal with the United States at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

in the water polo competition. She is also a bronze medalist from the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. Her position is driver. Rulon is a two-time medalist (one gold and silver) at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

High school and college

At University of San Diego High School, Kelly Rulon was a four-time first-team all-league, all-city and All-

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have a ...

selection, as well as

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a partic ...

of her team each year she played. As a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

in 2003, Rulon was second on the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) ...

with 27 goals, 26 assists and 27 steals, and scored once in the Bruins' 4-3 victory over

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

in the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship; she finished with six post-season goals. Returning from the Olympics in her 2005 season, Rulon led her team in scoring with 70 goals, as well as multi-goal games (22), assists (48), steals (72) and post-season goals (12). She led the Bruins to the NCAA title with a 33-0 record and was named a first-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n by the American Water Polo Coaches Association. When UCLA defeated Stanford University in the NCAA final, Rulon, who scored three goals in the semifinal win over Hawaii, led UCLA in scoring for the season and post-season. As a junior, Rulon was selected the

of the 2006 NCAA Tournament after leading UCLA to its second consecutive and fourth overall NCAA title. She scored 11 goals in the three games to set a new NCAA Tournament record. In the 9-8 championship victory over the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

, Rulon scored four goals and set up the game-winner by drawing an ejection foul with four seconds to play. During her senior year, Rulon had 70 goals, totaled a team-high 52 assists and team-leading 42 steals, and recorded seven blocks and 26 earned exclusions, both totals ranking second-highest on the club. She scored in 26 matches and posted 16 multi-goal efforts. Then she registered a season-high six goals against Loyola Marymount (March 31). Another highlight was the five goals she scored twice – versus Santa Clara (Feb. 24) and UC San Diego (March 16). Rulan had six four-goal performances and had netted 19 goals in a four-game span. She and her team-mates led UCLA to the school's 100th NCAA National Championship (a new record). In 2007, Rulon was named winner of the

Peter J. Cutino Award The Peter J. Cutino Award, named after former college water polo player and UC Berkeley coach Peter J. Cutino, is considered the most prestigious individual award in American collegiate water polo. It is given annually to the top male and female pl ...

, which is given to the college Player-of-the-Year in water polo. She joined other

Coralie Simmons Coralie Denise Simmons (born March 1, 1977) is an American water polo player, who won the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics. In 2001, she won the Peter J. Cutino Award, presented annually to the top American collegiate water polo player. ...

(2001), Natalie Golda (2005), and

Courtney Mathewson Courtney Lynn Kaiulani Mathewson (born September 14, 1986) is an American water polo player, part of the US team that won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She played water polo for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruin ...

(2008), as the school's four UCLA female

winners, all coached by Adam Krikorian. .

International and Olympics

Rulon received

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

honors at the 1999 Junior Olympics and was five-time Junior Olympics First-Team All-American. She played in the 2002 Junior Pan American Championships, where she was the tournament's leading scorer. In 2004, Rulon

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

to play in the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

Athens, Greece Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

. She scored four goals in the Olympics including the game-winning goal against Hungary in the opening game. The US women won the bronze medal by defeating Australia. After the 2005 collegiate season, Rulon played for the U.S. National Team that won a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, et ...

in the 2005 FINA World Championships in Canada. During 2009 FINA World Championship in Rome, which saw US women team winning the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...

, Kelly Rulon scored last two goals of the final match against Canada. She was also awarded of the ''Gold Cap'' as tournament's best player. Kelly currently trains with the USA Water Polo National Team and in October 2011 helped lead Team USA to the gold medal at the Pan American games. In 2012, Rulon played in the

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

. She assisted the US women's team win the

, against Spain. The final score of the final match in London against Spain was 8-5.

Clubs

Rulon left UCLA after 2007 College season for moving into Europe. In the same year she joined the A.S.D Roma team playing in the Italian Women's Waterpolo Championship. With A.S.D. Roma she won that year the LEN Cup, as best scorer of final match in Padua. Rulon played 2008/09 season for Nervi, being the scoring leader in the Italian Championship (81 goals) After her coming back in Rome she scored 58 goals in the 2009/10 season.

Awards

In 2020, Rulon was inducted into the

USA Water Polo Hall of Fame The USA Water Polo Hall of Fame, located in Irvine, California, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring players, coaches and officials who have contributed greatly to the game of water polo in the United States of America. It was established in 1976 ...

Personal

Kelly Rulon majored in history at UCLA. Rulon's younger sister, Katie, was also a member of the UCLA water polo team.

References

External links

*
Kelly Rulon: UCLA Team biography

San Diego Hall of Champions: Kelly Rulon, 2005 Amateur Star of the Year
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rulon, Kelly 1984 births Living people Sportspeople from San Diego American female water polo players Water polo drivers Water polo players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in water polo Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in water polo World Aquatics Championships medalists in water polo Water polo players at the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games medalists in water polo Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States UCLA Bruins women's water polo players Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games University of San Diego High School alumni