Scoring directly from a corner kick, an Olimpico, is mathematically improbable. Megan Rapinoe did it twice at the Olympics, the only player ever to do so. That refusal to accept the expected parameters defined her entire life on and off the pitch.

This deep dive impartially traces her path from a small California town to two-time World Cup champion and one of her generation’s most polarizing cultural figures, reporting the facts and context without taking sides.

• How her brother Brian’s addiction and incarceration became fuel for her relentless drive
• Back-to-back ACL tears she later called some of the best things to happen to her
• The 122nd-minute cross to Abby Wambach that saved the 2011 World Cup run
• Kneeling during the anthem in 2016 and the equal pay lawsuit against US Soccer
• Her dominant 2019 World Cup sweep and her retirement ending on a missed penalty