Where is Megan Rapinoe? Retired US women's soccer star won't compete in 2024 Paris Olympics

Few, if any, figures are as synonymous with United States women’s soccer as Megan Rapinoe .

Over the course of a 17-year career with the U.S. national team, Rapinoe helped her home country reach the pinnacle of the sport on several different occasions. The star midfielder was an indispensable piece on two American teams that won the Women’s World Cup, in 2015 and 2019, and a 2012 U.S. squad that won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

She was also a standout on the U.S. 2011 World Cup runner-up squad, assisting Abby Wambach on a late equalizer against Brazil in the quarterfinals that’s perhaps the most famous goal in American soccer history, men’s or women’s.

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Rapinoe’s excellence and creativity on the field was often matched by her work away from it.

The California native was among the key and most visible forces in the U.S. women’s soccer team’s fight for equal pay. She has been an outspoken advocate for racial justice and LGBTQ rights. Perhaps most memorably, she drew the public ire of then-President Donald Trump before the 2019 Women’s World Cup when she stated that the team wouldn’t visit the White House if they won the tournament.

Over a nearly two-decade stretch, Rapinoe was a constant on a team featuring a number of players who went on to become household names, from Wambach to Alex Morgan to Carli Lloyd. For some fans, particularly younger ones who were drawn to the sport because of the Americans’ wild success, they couldn’t recall a U.S. women’s national soccer team without Rapinoe.

As the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris approach, though, American women’s soccer is going through a massive transition, with several team fixtures out in favor of new faces.

What does that mean for Rapinoe? Here’s what you need to know about Rapinoe, her career and her status for the 2024 Olympics:

Is Megan Rapinoe playing at the 2024 Paris Olympics?

Rapinoe will not be competing for the U.S. women’s soccer team and new coach Emma Hayes at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Her absence from the event is hardly a surprise.

In July 2023, Rapinoe announced her retirement from professional soccer following the end of that year’s National Women’s Soccer League season.

REQUIRED READING: Retiring Megan Rapinoe didn't just change the game with the USWNT. She changed the world.

Megan Rapinoe retirement

After competing on the USWNT in four Women’s World Cups and three Olympics, Rapinoe revealed that the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand would be her last major tournament.

At the time, Rapinoe noted that she had been on “a little bit of borrowed time.” In the months leading up to her ­announcement, she had dealt with ankle and calf injuries that had sidelined her from competition. At 38 years old, Rapinoe was the oldest player on the U.S. roster.

“I’ve been able to have such an incredible career, and this game has brought me all over the world and allowed me to meet so many amazing people,” she said in a statement announcing her impending retirement . “I feel incredibly grateful to have played as long as I have, to be as successful as we’ve been, and to have been a part of a generation of players who undoubtedly left the game better than they found it. To be able to play one last World Cup and one last NWSL season and go out on my own terms is incredibly special.”

The 2023 Women’s World Cup served as a dour end to an otherwise stellar international career for Rapinoe. She played 80 minutes across three matches in the competition and, most notably, was one of three U.S. players to miss a penalty kick in a shootout loss to Sweden in the Round of 16, a surprisingly early exit for the two-time reigning world champions.

It was the first missed penalty kick in almost five years for Rapinoe, who was known throughout her career for her masterful work on set pieces.

“This is like a sick joke for me personally, this is a dark comedy that I missed a penalty,” she said to Fox Sports after the loss . “This is the balance to the beautiful side of the game.”

Rapinoe’s final career appearance for the U.S. women’s national team came in September 2023, when the Americans beat South Africa 2-0 in a friendly in Chicago.

Rapinoe’s final home match with her longtime NWSL club, OL Reign (since renamed Seattle Reign FC), drew an NWSL record 34,130 fans to Lumen Field in Seattle. The match included a pregame ceremony to honor Rapinoe, complete with a tribute video that featured well-wishes from Wambach, Ken Griffey Jr. and Magic Johnson. In what would be her final professional match, Rapinoe tore her Achilles tendon just three minutes into OL Reign’s 2-1 loss to NY/NJ Gotham in the NWSL championship game.

Though she was stepping away from a sport that made her a national and international celebrity, she had no reservations about the decision.

“I don’t feel a big sense of dread like it’s over,” she said to The Ringer in 2023. “I’m like, damn, I got to play until I was 38, go to all these World Cups, do all this stuff. And now I have such a big life after. I have so much that I can do.”

Megan Rapinoe age

Rapinoe turned 39 years old on July 5.

Megan Rapinoe career highlights

Nearly a full year after her retirement, Rapinoe is one of the most decorated players in American soccer history.

Here’s a look at some of her most notable career accomplishments:

• 2019 Ballon d'Or Féminin winner (best women’s soccer player in the world)
• 2019 Best FIFA Women’s Player
• Two-time World Cup champion (2015, 2019)
• 2019 Women’s World Cup Golden Ball (best overall player)
• 2019 Women’s World Cup Golden Boot (top scorer)
• 2019 Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year
• 2012 Olympic gold medalist
• 12th all-time in U.S. women’s caps
• 10th all-time in U.S. women’s goals
• Tied for third all-time in U.S. women’s assists
• National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame inductee
• Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient

Megan Rapinoe stats

Between her clinical play in the midfield and her longevity, Rapinoe ranks among the top players in U.S. women’s soccer history in several key statistical categories.

Here’s a look at Rapinoe’s career stats with the U.S. women’s national team:

• 203 caps
• 63 goals
• 73 assists
• 143 games started
• 11,742 minutes played

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Where is Megan Rapinoe? Retired US women's soccer star won't compete in 2024 Paris Olympics