Did you know…
Montreal 1976
Montreal, Quebec, Canada, one of the most beautiful and modern places in the Western Hemisphere, hosted the First Women’s Olympic Basketball Tournament in 1976. Six countries competed for the gold medal, including Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and Japan. The international match was won by the women’s national team of the Soviet Union (present-day Russia). Just one year earlier, the Soviet team came first at the VII World Championship in Cali, Colombia (South America) by beating Japan in the gold medal match. Meanwhile, on July 23, 1976, America claimed second place in the multi-sport event after losing to the USSR (led by its international star Uljana Semjonova) 112-77, having earned the right to compete in the XXIII Olympiad by winning the First FIBA Women’s Basketball Olympic Games Qualifying Tournament in Hamilton (Ontario, Canada). The silver medalists were Lusia Harris, Cindy Brogdon, Susan Rojcewicz, Ann Meyers, Julienne Simpson, Patricia Head, Mary Anne O’Connor, Patricia Roberts, Gail Marquis, Nancy Lieberman, Charlotte Lewis, and Nancy Dunkle. The US team began its pre-Olympic preparation after winning the VI Pan American Cup in Mexico City in October 1975.
Moscow 1980
Under Semjonova’s leadership, the host nation USSR won the Moscow Olympic Tournament in 1980, followed by Bulgaria (silver), Yugoslavia (bronze), Hungary (4th), Cuba (5th) and Italy (6th). °). It was the second Olympic victory for the USSR (also known as the Soviet Union during the Cold War). On the other hand, the giant of Latvia Uljana Semjonova was the most outstanding basketball player of Moscow ’80. Over the next several years, the 7-foot-1, 284-pound Semjonova was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Maryland, the first player from the former USSR to accomplish that feat.
THE 1984
For the first time, the US women’s basketball team captured the Olympic Championship in Southern California. The People’s Republic of China collected the silver medal. The bronze medal went to the Republic of Korea; Eastern European teams did not participate in the 1984 Olympiad due to the Moscow boycott. On the way to the Games in Los Angeles, the United States team -with outstanding athletes such as Janice Lawrence, Cheryl Miller and Lynette Woodard- won the IX Pan American Sports Games on Venezuelan soil in August 1983. In Venezuela, the United States defeated Cuba 100-82 (43-38) to win the Pan American gold medal. A few weeks ago he came close to winning the FIBA World Cup on Brazilian soil.
Seoul 1988
On October 29, 1988, in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, the United States women’s team won gold at the Olympic event, after finishing first in the 1984 Games in Los Angeles (California). In the final, they defeated Yugoslavia 77-70 (42-36). However, the “most exciting match” was when the United States, led by their All-Star player Teresa Edwards, beat the Soviet Union 102-88 (50-39) on October 27 (seeds). The United States won the Olympic trophy with the following world-class players: Suzanne McConnell, Cynthia Cooper, Jennifer Gillom, Katrina McClaim, Andrea Lloyd, Victoria Bullett, Bridgette Gordon, Teresa Weatherspoon, Anne Donovan, Cynthia Brown, Mary Ethridge, and Miss Edwards. Two years ago, in 1986, they had won the world tournament in the Russian capital of Moscow. In the second half of the 20th century, American Edwards made history when she captured four Summer Games golds from the 1980s to the early 2000s: Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000. Uljana Semjonova ( Latvia), Hortencia Fátima Marcari (Brazil) and Edwards are considered the most famous players in Olympic history.
1996 Atlanta Games
A miracle happened in Atlanta 1996! Despite suffering a bloody civil war, where more than four million people were massacred (and thousands of girls were raped), the African Republic of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo/DRC) incredibly qualified as one of the 12 best teams of the World Cup at the Games of the 26th Olympiad in the United States, setting an example for several Third World countries, from Peru and the Philippines to India and Brunei Darussalam. It was undoubtedly the “most memorable moment in Zaire’s sporting history”. After receiving support from Dikembe Mutumbo, an American star of Congolese origin, the African team headed to Atlanta. From an Olympic perspective, the Zairean team should be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Athens 2004
The 2004 Olympic Tournament was won by the United States of America, followed by Australia (silver medal), Russia (bronze), Brazil (4th), Czech Republic (5th), Spain (6th), Greece (7th), New Zealand ( 8th), the People’s Republic of China (9th), Japan (10th place), Nigeria (11th) and South Korea (12th). In the Greek capital of Athens, the United States captured its third gold medal for the third time in a row – the most Olympic basketball tournament wins by a women’s team. Interestingly, Nigerian basketball player Mfon Udoka was the second best scorer in the tournament with 21.7 points.
