Seattle well represented with four players, one coach, and one franchise legend vying for one of 12 berths in 2024 Olympic Games
SEATTLE — The 2024 Olympic Qualifying Tournament takes places in four locales this week with 16 teams battling for one of 12 spots at the 2024 Games in Paris this summer. The Seattle Storm is well represented with four current players, one coach, and one franchise legend participating in the tournaments.
The four tournaments take place concurrently Feb. 8-11 with four teams each in Antwerp, Belgium; Xi’an, China; Belém, Brazil; and Sopron, Hungary. The top three teams from each tournament earns a berth at the 2024 Olympics in Paris which runs July 27 through August 11.
Standout guard Jewell Loyd once again represents the United States after helping the Red, White, and Blue to a gold medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Overall, Loyd has five gold medals with a pair of two World Cup medals (2018, 2022), a U17 World Championship medal (2010) and a 3×3 World Championship medal (2014). The top-ranked United States team, which has already earned an automatic berth in the 2024 Olympics by virtue of winning the 2022 World Cup, is in Antwerp, Belgium along with Belgium, Nigeria, and Senegal.
One-third of the 12-player roster for the Australian Opals is made up of current and former Storm players: Ezi Magbegor, Jade Melbourne, Sami Whitcomb, and Storm legend Lauren Jackson. The quartet combined to help the Aussies earn a bronze medal at the 2022 World Cup with Jackson scoring 30 in what was thought to be her final game. This will also be Melbourne’s first appearance with the Opals. The Australian squad, which is ranked No. 3 in the FIBA rankings, is in Belém, Brazil to face Brazil, Serbia, and Germany.
Storm Head Coach Noelle Quinn will help guide Canada as one of the team’s assistant coaches, helping Canada to one of its best finishes in decades with a fourth-place finish at the 2022 World Cup. The Canadian squad is in Sopron, Hungry, where they face arguably the toughest field which includes Spain, Japan, and host Hungary.
The fourth tournament takes place in Xi’an, China, features China, France, Puerto Rico, and New Zealand.
All games will be streamed by Courtside 1891, and fans can follow the competition on the FIBA website through the following tournament links: Belgium | China | Brazil | Hungary
Tournament schedules for the United States, Canada, and Australia can be found below.
Team Schedules (PST):
USA
Feb. 8 vs Belgium (11:45 am)
Feb. 9 vs Nigeria (9:15 am)
Feb. 11 vs Senegal (10:15 am)
Canada
Feb. 8 vs Hungary (10:00 am)
Feb. 9 vs Spain (6:30 am)
Feb. 11 vs Japan (6:00 am)
Australia
Feb. 8 vs Brazil (3:00 pm)
Feb. 10 vs Germany (12:00 pm)
Feb. 11 vs Serbia (12:00 pm)
Schedule by Day and Time (PST):
Thursday, Feb. 8
Canada vs Hungary (10:00 am)
USA vs Belgium (11:45 am)
Australia vs Brazil (3:00 pm)
Friday, Feb. 9
Canada vs Spain (6:30 am)
USA vs Nigeria (9:15 am)
Saturday, Feb. 10
Australia vs Germany (12:00 pm)
Sunday, Feb. 11
Canada vs Japan (6:00 am)
USA vs Senegal (10:15 am)
Australia vs Serbia (12:00 pm)
—— StormBasketball.com ——