BERKELEY – Heather Petri won four Olympic medals, but the most important thing to her was the fact that her teammates won medals as well.

Petri, the only four-time female Olympic medalist in Cal history, added to her decorated career earlier this month when she was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the Hotel Irvine. It was another individual honor for the often-celebrated former Golden Bear, but not as significant to her as what she accomplished with her college and international teammates during her time in the water.

"A lot of people chase the ultimate goal of gold medals and being on top of the podium," said Petri, who won one gold medal, two silvers and a bronze while playing on the U.S. National Team. "The thing that kept me in the sport was the fact that I loved being part of a team and loved trying to improve. Every teammate and coach taught me something. I was learning until the very last day I played. I never felt bored. I love our sport for that."

Petri played at Cal from 1997-99 and 2001 and was a two-time All-American before moving on to a long and successful career with Team USA. She was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013 and named to the Pac-12 All-Century Team in 2015.

Petri is currently an assistant coach for the Bears.

"I did a lot of reflection thinking about why they chose me for this honor," Petri said. "A lot of moments popped into my head. You think about some glorious moments, like standing up there with a medal around your neck. And you think about some non-glorious moments of extreme stress and adversity. But again, the most important thing was to always have my teammates by my side. Winning medals wasn't my sole focus. Honestly, it was the process of becoming better."



Petri began playing water polo at the age of 15, initially competing with the boys team at Miramonte High School in Orinda before helping to form a girls program. Women's water polo had yet to be added as an Olympic sport and was just getting off the ground in the college game.

Petri was one of two Golden Bears to be inducted this year, along with former men's star Chris Humbert, who helped Cal win three straight NCAA championships and played in three Olympics for Team USA.

Petri demonstrated her focus on team dynamics by beginning her acceptance speech by inviting all members of the Hall of Fame to come to the front of the room for a high-five.



"I had a ritual on the national team before every game I would high-five every member of the staff and all of my teammates," Petri said. "So I started my speech by asking all of them to come up. I needed to make sure they were a part of this day.

"They were looking at me like I was crazy. Nobody moved. I was like, 'I'm serious.' Now that we have that connection, I am looking forward to learning more about them."