Caitlin Clark isn’t letting not making the Olympic team roster for 2024 slow her down, telling Indy Star Sport’s Chloe Peterson that she has “no disappointment” about not making the team. “I think it just gives me something to work for. That’s a dream — hopefully one day I can be there. I think it’s a little more motivation … hopefully when four years comes back around, I can be there.”
The next Summer Olympics are set to be held in Los Angeles in 2028.
“I’m excited for the girls that are on the team,” Clark said. “I know it’s the most competitive team in the world and I know it could have gone either way, me being on the team, me not being on the team, so I’m excited for them.”
“I’m going to be rooting them on to win gold,” she added. “I was a kid that grew up watching the Olympics, so it’ll be fun to watch them.”
Clark added that USA Basketball called her ahead of time to let her know she didn’t make the roster. In case you’re wondering, she is “absolutely” looking forward to a break from basketball — at least for a while.
The WNBA season concludes on Sept. 19, but the league will take a break July 21-Aug. 14 for the Olympic games. Before the games begin, on July 20, the Olympic team will go head-to-head with the WNBA All-Star team in Phoenix. The All-Star team has yet to be selected.
The USA Basketball women’s team is competing for its potential eighth consecutive gold medal in Paris this summer. The team includes Brittney Griner — heading to the Olympics after being released from Russian custody ahead of the 2023 season — as well as Ariel Atkins, Shakira Austin, Aliyah Boston, Chelsea Gray, Rhyne Howard, Sabrina Ionescu, Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum, Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young.
The team includes seven returning Olympic champions. Taurasi is a five-time Olympic champion from 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020. Atkins, Copper, Ionescu, Loyd, Plum, Stewart and Thomas were all members of the gold-medal-winning basketball World Cup team in 2022.
Clark could potentially be selected as an alternate for the team based on her inclusion in the Olympic team pool.
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