Three years out from the flag football’s debut as an Olympic sport in Los Angeles, few women have seized on the opportunities it’s created like Ashlea Klam
Ashlea Klam won a world championship in flag football – and is in prime position to pursue an Olympic gold medal for the US – without ever having the chance to compete for a state title at her high school. And that is something the 20-year-old from Texas is striving to change with whatever time she can find away from her training and college classes.
“I think it is just absolutely crazy that I have been able to represent my country at this sport, but I was never able to represent my high school,” said Klam, who became a world-class player of a sport debuting at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in large part thanks to a program founded by her parents. “When states don’t have flag football in their sanctioned varsity sports … it hurts. It hurts deeply because it’s taking away so many opportunities for younger girls to be able to play this sport.”
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