WASHINGTON — Candace Parker was 10 years old when she watched Lisa Leslie win her first Olympic gold medal in Atlanta.
Twelve years later, Parker gets a chance to help her Los Angeles Sparks teammate win an unprecedented fourth straight gold in the Beijing Olympics.
“I was sitting on my couch watching the 1996 Olympics with tears in my eyes saying I’m going to be there one day,” Parker said.
They were two of the nine players placed on the U.S. women’s basketball team Saturday. The announcement came before Los Angeles played Washington in a WNBA game.
Also on the team are Olympic veterans Katie Smith, Tina Thompson, Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird. This will be Smith’s third Olympics. Cappie Pondexter, Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles will make their Olympic debuts.
“These nine players are no-brainers,” U.S. Olympic coach Anne Donovan said. “It’s so exciting to have these nine players officially named to the team. It’s such a great mixture of Olympic gold medalists with some really tremendous young talent.”
Choosing the last three players won’t be as easy. They will be chosen from the remaining pool of 20 and possible candidates include Kara Lawson, Swin Cash, Lindsey Harding and Lindsay Whalen.
“We’re hoping to add a tough defensive stopper on the perimeter who can also score for us, as well as at least another post player,” said Renee Brown, the USA Basketball vice president for senior women and chair of the selection committee.
One player the committee would love to have is Tamika Catchings, who has recovered slowly after tearing her right Achilles’ tendon last September. Catchings was part of the 2004 Olympic team in Athens.
“We’ll wait and see when Catchings gets back on the floor,” Brown said. “She’s very important to USA basketball.”
Another possibility is three-time Olympic star Sheryl Swoopes, who is still recovering from a back injury.
“I’m sure if she’s 100 percent we wouldn’t leave her at home,” said Leslie, who won gold medals with Swoopes at the last three Olympics.
Former U.S. star Teresa Edwards won four Olympic titles, but a bronze in 1992 interrupted her run from 1984-2000.
“I feel a mixture of emotions,” Leslie said. “I feel young enough to play, but old enough to be a leader. “When I put on the red, white, and blue it’s all about the gold. I know what it takes to win gold.”
The U.S. team, without Leslie, lost in the 2006 world championship semifinals to Russia and had to qualify for the Olympics by winning the FIBA Americas tournament last September. The Americans begin Olympic pool play Aug. 9 against a qualifier that is still to be determined. They will then face host China on Aug. 11.
The Chinese beat a short-handed American team in the gold-medal game of the Olympic test event in April. That U.S. team was missing Bird, Taurasi, Thompson, Augustus and Pondexter — all were playing abroad.
“I think China’s on a high after beating the USA team,” Pondexter said. “Also being the home team will help them.”
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