She excelled as a quarterback for the 17U U.S. Girls’ Flag National Team, leading her team to a gold medal at the 2024 Junior International Cup in Los Angeles. This athlete has also been awarded the NFL Latino Youth Honors 2024 in New Orleans, an event that celebrates Latino seniors with athletic and academic achievements. A great flag-footballer in the making. But the path was not easy, starting with her heart surgery.
Sophie Guitron was diagnosed with a rare congenital heart disease that required open-heart surgery. She underwent surgery at Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, the heart disease was dealt with, but she lost the sport she has been in love with since she was 6 -football. But then she saw flag football. The interest first sparked in her when she saw her classmates play flag football. Curious, she learned the rules, gave it a try, and quickly fell in love with the game. Next?
She joined a recreational team, where she not only won a local league championship but also earned the respect of her teammates as the only girl on the roster. As her next step, she joined a co-ed club where she continued to develop. But there was one problem. Her high school, Mira Costa, did not have a women’s team. This is where the Los Angeles Chargers stepped in.
“So she wrote directly to the Chargers for help. The NFL franchise responded by sponsoring the creation of the first women’s flag football team in the school’s history,” reported the Los Angeles Times. Both Guitron and Mira Costa ensured that the money invested was not wasted. During her senior year, Guitron played a key role in leading Mira Costa to the Bay League championship and the school’s first-ever playoff win.
Sophie Guitron (Image Source: Instagram/@sophie_flagfootball)
She tried her hand at several positions, but it was as a wide receiver that she truly shone, earning the league’s Most Valuable Player award and Division 2 All-CIF honors. Now 18, Sophie Guitron’s next step is to go play at Keiser University in Florida, alongside other emerging stars of the sport such as Janasia Wilson and Ashlea Klam. She plans to study sports management and has already represented the United States at the U17 level, whilst working on her biggest dream – the 2028 Olympics.
“I’m working very hard to be at the 2028 Games, but my career won’t end there. I’m young and I also want to make it to the 2032 Olympics,” said Guitron. 2028 will be the year when her sport makes its Olympic debut.
Flag Football to Make Its Olympics Debut in LA 2028
“The Olympic handover from Paris to Los Angeles is an amazing opportunity to have our global flag ambassador Jalen Hurts kickstart the excitement around the inclusion of men’s and women’s flag football in the 2028 program,” said Peter O’Reilly, executive vice president of club business, international and league events. “As one of the fastest growing sports globally, flag football has incredible momentum, and LA28 will spotlight the sport at the highest level and on the world’s biggest stage.”
Flag football will make its first-ever Olympic appearance at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, having been officially approved by the International Olympic Committee in October 2023 following a two-year evaluation. “As we celebrate the successes of Paris 2024 and the ball is thrown to LA28, we have no doubt flag football is going to light up the Games when it makes its debut in four years’ time,” said IFAF President, Pierre Trochet.
Also in a landmark move in May 2025, NFL owners unanimously agreed to allow active NFL players to compete in Olympic flag football, with each National Olympic Committee permitted to include one player per NFL franchise on its 10-player roster for the six men’s and six women’s teams. We could see some big names there. What are your thoughts on this? Who’s your pick? The comment section is all yours.
The post Good News for LA Chargers as 18-Year-Old Olympic Hopeful Shares Heartfelt Confession Years After Heart Surgery appeared first on EssentiallySports.
