Rory Guilday's Long Road From Chemotherapy To The Olympics

MILAN — It was determination time for nan champion U.S. women’s lucky players, and Rory Guilday was cautiously assured contempt being trim from nan squad a twelvemonth earlier.

Still, Guilday didn’t show anybody, not moreover her parents, that nationalist squad head Katie Million was scheduled to telephone her (and nan remainder of nan subordinate excavation individually) to disclose who made the Olympic roster.

“I felt bully astir my play, and I felt for illustration I showed what I needed to show,” Guilday said. “Anything aft that was just, if it happened, it happened.”

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Guilday answered nan telephone connected that day, a small complete a period ago. Million’s connection was to nan point. “You earned your spot,” aliases thing to that effect.

“I was successful shock,” Guilday remembered, speaking aft nan team’s 2nd believe successful Milan connected Sunday. “Can’t really process it successful that moment.”

Guilday is simply a 23-year-old defender from Chanhassen, Minnesota, which is champion known arsenic nan tract of Prince’s Paisley Park. She is nan only 1 connected nan 23-player Olympic roster who was a patient trim from nan 2025 world championship-winning team.

“She conscionable took nan proposal (from 2025) that, ‘Hey, you’ve sewage to fig retired your crippled a small spot more, particularly connected nan protect side,’” U.S. caput coach John Wroblewski said. “It was conscionable a small spot of maturation successful her protect instincts.”

Guilday began playing lucky astir property 5. In Minnesota, you’re put successful skates correct aft you commencement walking, she jokes.

In caller interviews, Guilday has shared her life-changing story. A regular seventh-grade oculus trial led to an MRI and a revelation that she had an optic nervus glioma, aliases a benign tumor, that was increasing and starting to impact nan imagination successful her correct eye.

She did chemotherapy for 9 months — spending up to 8 hours a time successful nan infirmary — to support it from spreading to her near eye. Still, she mislaid astir of her imagination successful nan correct eye.

“These days, I don’t really deliberation of it arsenic a ace sob communicative type of thing,” she said connected nan “Jocks successful Jills” podcast. “It’s conscionable portion of who I americium these days. Yeah, chemotherapy is not thing that’s enjoyable. It’s really difficult connected nan assemblage and soul, too, I’d say, and nan group astir you. I mislaid a ton of my spot successful my body. Skating was my personality arsenic a lucky subordinate erstwhile I was younger. So erstwhile I started chemotherapy, and I would measurement onto nan ice, and I felt for illustration I couldn’t clasp myself up pinch my ankles, that was ace devastating.”

Guilday went astir a twelvemonth without playing successful a lucky game. Once backmost successful action successful precocious school, she adapted, regaining assurance and fearlessness.

Her encephalon adjusted, too. Her imagination is nary longer a thought erstwhile she’s skating, driving aliases simply walking.

“Pretty much, my near oculus has conscionable taken over,” she said successful October. “My assemblage is utilizing my near eye. It’s not really utilizing my correct eye. I have, like, 20/15 imagination successful my near oculus now, truthful I telephone it my eagle eye.”

She played connected world title teams successful 2022, 2023 and 2024 (all while a Cornell student-athlete) and sewage drafted 5th wide by nan Professional Women’s Hockey League’s Ottawa Charge past June.

When she was a kid, Guilday watched nan Olympics pinch her 3 siblings, holding a mom-made tin-foil-and-paper torch.

On Thursday, she will suit up for her first Olympic lucky game. The U.S. plays Czechia astatine 10:40 a.m. ET (USA Network and Peacock). Her full family is coming, having booked recreation to Italy aft learning she made nan team.

Guilday said she’s thankful for what she went done successful mediate school, which temporarily separated her from nan sport.

“It makes you really admit erstwhile you do get to play,” she said.