University of Connecticut Athletics
Plenty of Huskies On Olympic Rosters
7/23/2021 12:00:00โฏAM | General
UConn Athletics will be well-represented by plenty of alumni and even one current Husky when the 2020 Tokyo Olympics get under way this week. No less than 17 athletes with UConn ties earned spots on various teams representing six different countries to compete in Japan.
Team USA will be led, quite literally, by former UConn All-American women's basketball player Sue Bird, who will be competing for a fifth gold medal and has been chosen by her teammates to carry the American flag and lead the team into Friday's opening ceremonies. For the first time, each country will have both a female and male flag bearer. Bird and baseball player Eddy Alvarez will handle the duties for the U.S.
"It's an incredible honor to be selected the flag bearer for Team USA -- to have your peers be the ones to kind of see your career and pick you to be the one to lead us in," Bird said upon learning of the honor. "People always ask me what my favorite Olympic moment is, and it's always been that in 2004, my teammate at the time, who's now my coach,ย Dawn Staley, she was selected as the flag bearer. And we got to be in the front with her, and that's always been my favorite moment outside of winning, obviously. So to actually be named that now is mind-blowing."
Unfortunately, 2019 UConn grad Katie Lou Samuelson, who was scheduled to compete for Team USA in 3x3 Women's Basketball, has been forced out of the Olympics due to COVID protocols, but 16 other UConn student-athletes are expected to be in action.
Women's basketball will have the largest contingent of Huskies, with 10 athletes from UConn taking the courts. Leading the way are former All-Americans Bird and Diana Taurasi, each playing in their fifth Olympics for Team USA and going for their fifth gold medals. Tina Charles will be gunning for her third gold medal with Team USA, Breanna Stewart will be going for her second, and Napheesa Collier will be after her first. In addition, 1996 UConn grad Jen Rizzotti, will serve as a Team USA assistant coach.
Former UConn women's basketball players will also appear on other teams โ Team France will feature Gabby Williams, while Team Canada will have UConn alum Kia Nurse as well as current rising UConn sophomore Aaliyah Edwards on its roster.
Another UConn women's basketball alum, 2014 grad Stefanie Dolson, will compete for Team USA in 3x3 Women's Basketball, although the dream of teaming with Samuelson has been curtailed.
UConn men's basketball alumni are also set to make an Olympic appearance, although not for Team USA. Gavin Edwards, a 2010 UConn grad, will be on the roster for Team Japan, while two-time NCAA champion Niels Giffey, a 2014 UConn grad, will compete for his native Team Germany.
The Women's Field Hockey competition will feature two former UConn All-Americans โ 2016 UConn grad Roisin Upton will play for Ireland, while 2019 grad Cecile Pieper will take the field with Team Germany.
In Women's Soccer, 2009 UConn graduate Stephanie Labbe, will be playing in her second Olympics for Team Canada.
The Huskies will also be represented in the 2020 Paralympics as 1999 UConn grad Amy Dixon will compete for Team USA in the Paratriathlon. Dixon won the 2019 national championship in the event, which consists of a 750-meter swim, a 20-kilometer bike, and a 5-kilometer run.
