Breanna Stewart on preparing for Paris 2024, leading Team USA and her Olympic hopes
In 2023, Breanna Stewart was named the WNBA MVP, and led her New York Liberty to the WNBA Finals. This could be an even more memorable year for Stewart. In the middle of a strong season for the Liberty, she is expected to be named to the U.S. women’s basketball team for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
If named, it will make her a three-time Olympian, on a quest for the U.S. to win its record-breaking eighth-straight gold in women’s basketball. She will be in a different role this time around, as many of the team’s previous leaders, like Sue Bird and Sylvia Fowles, have retired.
“I’m just really embracing that and understanding that, aside from [Diana Taurasi], I have probably the most experience on the team. I’m making sure that I continue to talk to the young ones and that this team is confident even though it's different than rosters that we've had before, and that we continue to know that we have the largest target ever on our back. Not only are we trying to continually win gold, but do it for the teams that have come before us,” Stewart said in an interview with Olympics.com.
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
• Click here to see the official qualification system for each sport.
Sandy Brondello is Stewart’s coach with the Liberty, as well as the coach of the Australian women’s team headed to Paris, which means she gets the experience of coaching Stewart, and having to coach against her.
“She's one of the greatest players of all time, and she's a key member of this USA team. And there are so many things that Stewie can do. She amazes me every day, but her leadership is one area she continues to grow in. She has an important part in making sure that they win. She’s going to make it hard for everybody else to try and stop her. Including me!” Brondello said.
Breanna Stewart: ‘You want to be present for all the moments’
Stewart is one of the few women who have been named to the Olympic roster in her rookie year in the WNBA. She was part of the gold-medal winning team at the Olympic Games Rio 2016 just months after winning her fourth national championship at UConn. Caitlin Clark is in the pool for the Olympic team, and has the chance to do what Stewart did.
“That summer, I felt like my head was just spinning the entire time. You go from college and the national championship, all of a sudden you're drafted. Then you have to go start practicing again, and then you're playing against pros, to the Olympics. And my advice would just be to be a sponge. You’re playing with and against the best players in the world, whether it is in the WNBA or with the national team. These players have gone through everything that I had gone through at that point and beyond. I really leaned on them, and leaned on Sue [Bird] and Diana [Taurasi] a lot. Obviously, we had a large group of UConn people on that team. I was just trying to do whatever I could and whenever my name was called, making sure that I came in and, gave my my best effort and did whatever it took to get the win.”
The Olympic basketball tournament lands in the middle of the WNBA season. With 40 regular season games and the postseason, plus up to six games at the Olympics and overseas travel, this year can be tough. Stewart is making sure her recovery from games is a part of her daily routine.
“I’m trying to do the best that I can to make sure that I'm as in shape as possible. Postgame, usually, I'm doing a lift to to continue to recover. The next day, getting a massage. Sandy's trying to go deeper into our bench and make our minutes less, but it's tough when games are close. There's been so much parity this season in the W. So no matter what, for whatever reason, as WNBA players, the Olympic summers are just like a grind,” Stewart said. “And I'm just going to go through it because you want to be present for all of the moments.”
At the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Antwerp, Team USA’s win over Belgium came on a last-second tip-in from Stewart. It was a close call for the U.S. With Belgium in the same group as the U.S., the teams will face off on 1 August n Lille, France, at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium, near the Belgian border.
“I thought it was an incredible atmosphere. Because it was 13,000 people there, everybody cheering against us. And it's what we needed because we haven't had that in so long where people want to beat us, even if it doesn't matter. They want to beat us. It’s making sure that every game, we have to be on our Ps and Qs a little bit. It was a lot of fun. Obviously, it came really down to the wire. But those are the moments and those are the games that you want to be in. And I hope that as we go to Paris the games are just as loud, if not louder.”
Life off the court for Breanna Stewart
As an out, queer athlete, it’s important for Stewart to help LGBTQ+ youths who are struggling with their identity. For Pride month, she partnered with Uninterrupted and Athlete Ally to provide a safe space for youths to ask questions.
“I think it's really important because it's Pride Month, but also, making sure that it goes beyond that month. Understanding that, for me to be my genuine self, and I accept and understand who I am. I want these kids who are struggling, if they have questions, to come to someone like me as a person, as a player, as an athlete, so that I can help them navigate their own lives as they're trying to. To figure out who they are and what they represent,” Stewart said.
Stewart is married to retired Spanish basketball player Marta Xargay, and they have two children: Ruby, nearly three years old and Theo, who was born in October. Ruby was born the day after Stewart and Team USA won the gold medal game at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. For Paris, Stewart is looking forward to having her family with her, and even celebrating Ruby’s birthday in Paris.
“I’m appreciating the Olympics because we haven't had one where it's been normal in so long. I remember in Rio going to other events and continuing to represent USA with so much pride, whether it's going to other sports or obviously us representing USA basketball. And it’s soaking it all in because each Olympic experience I've had has been so different. Rio, like I said, my head was spinning. In Tokyo there were no fans, there was no family. So that was tough. And now being able to have everybody come play in front of large crowds, hopefully, and just enjoy the moment because things like this don't come often and you have to really appreciate them because there's nothing like it.”