Kelley O'Hara used to look up to Olympians, now she's one of them

Kelley O'Hara used to only have dreams of going to the Olympics. Now, she's already been there, done that -- twice. The 28-year-old soccer player has just finished up in Rio as a player on the U.S. women's team.

Despite winning gold at the London Games in 2012 and nabbing the World Cup in 2014, O'Hara isn't cocky about her stellar career. In some ways, she is still shocked she is playing alongside the same women she "idolized" growing up.

And although O'Hara finds it "totally weird" that someone may look up to her just like she looked up to star player Abby Wambach, she's come to embrace her influence and show people the power of believing in your dreams.

#YouShouldKnow is a feature that showcases rising talents. To see more past interviews, including more athlete exclusives, click here.

SEE ALSO: Where Olympian soccer player Kelley O'Hara keeps her gold medals

What has it been like for you to be a female icon in a male-dominated field?

I think that we've always prided ourselves in being the best and I think that we are pushing for equality and have always pushed to accelerate the women's game, not just in the U.S., but around the world. We are always trying to ensure that we're working as a team and, hopefully at some point, as a federation, doing the right thing. We just try to do what we can because we do have this platform and it's not about whether we get more attention than male athletes, but more so working what we do have and hopefully, doing good with it.

Who was your biggest idol growing up?

I definitely idolized the women on the national team. I remember when I was younger, I was at an Atlanta Beat [soccer] game and I got Julie Foudy's autograph and I thought that was pretty cool. But I wasn't a huge sports fanatic, I was never that type of kid. I was just playing outside with my friends, most of the time and going to organized sporting events.

Is it crazy to think that you may be some kid's idol?

Yeah, it's totally weird. When I first got on the team, that was something that started to happen, it was very strange to me. I still feel like the kid that's looking up to Abby Wambach and Heather O'Reilly and other people who have been on the national team for a long time and who know what they're doing and now, they're my teammates! But through the years, I feel like I've come to embrace that and it's a very unique and special thing that we are able to be role models for these people. Even if they're not a kid and it's someone in their 20s or 40s, it's quite special to know that people look to us to see that you can set a goal and go after it and conquer it if you put in the right amount of work.

Where do you see the progression of your career going in the next few years?

Truthfully, it's hard to look that far forward. I try to live in the present and stay focused on that because you can't look too far ahead in this profession or career, but I definitely am going to continue playing. I'm hoping to play a handful of more years and just continue with the national team and maybe play in the states or play overseas, who knows? Right now, no decisions are really being made about that, but I will definitely still be playing soccer.

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