By Charlie Warner, Special to the Independent
Olympic water polo gold medalists Aria and Makenzie Fischer graciously greeted fans at a community award ceremony and small-scale carnival on the newly renovated high school field Sunday, Sept. 11.
“Thank you, everyone. We felt all your love from Laguna in Rio,” said Makenzie as she and her sister made brief remarks to the crowd, which included current Laguna Beach High School water polo players.
Makenzie reminisced about how she felt four years earlier in 2012 when LBHS alumnus and fellow water polo player Annika Dries returned from London with a gold medal and received a similar welcoming ceremony.
“We hope to see some future Laguna Olympians that we can watch in the future; I know there are some of you in the crowd,” said Makenzie, who with her sister, the youngest player on the U.S. water polo team, helped repeat that 2012 feat with a gold medal win at the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.
The sisters serve “as an inspiration to all of the athletes and students at LBHS,” said principal Chris Herzfeld. “It’s hard to comprehend that we have an Olympic gold medalist sitting in our classrooms as a senior.”
Aria will be playing water polo at the high school starting in the winter while balancing AP classes. Makenzie will be returning to Stanford University, pursuing both water polo and sciences.
The celebration allowed the sisters a chance to enjoy their celebrity status and children an opportunity to meet their hometown inspirations.
Sharing the stage with them were contributors to the sisters’ success. This included a USA water polo representative, their high school coach, and their parents, Erich and Leslie Fischer.
The duo received ample words of appreciation and encouragement from others as well, including Rep. Dana Rohrabacher and Laguna Beach Mayor Steve Dicterow.
After the formalities, fans mobbed the sisters for photos, autographs, and to deliver personal congratulatory messages. As a section of the Laguna Concert Band provided a festive backbeat, hot dogs and snow cones and carnival booths kept the party going.
Charlie Warner is an Indy intern.
