Sue Bird Ends Team USA Career With 5th Straight Gold

Team beat Japan 90-75 to cap basketball legend's 17-year Olympic career
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 8, 2021 5:45 AM CDT
USA Women's Basketball Wins 7th Straight Gold Medal
Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi pose with their gold medals at the 2020 Summer Olympics   (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

US women have won their seventh straight gold medal in basketball, beating Japan 90-75 to cap Sue Bird's 17-year Olympic career. Per the AP, Bird and Diana Taurasi walked off the basketball court together, arm-in-arm, one last time at the Tokyo Games. They started their journey together five Olympics ago and ended it in the same fashion as always—with gold medals hanging around their necks. “All of what we’ve done for USA Basketball, we’ve done together. It’s fitting,” Bird said after the 90-75 win over Japan on Sunday. And now it's over — at least for the 40-year-old Bird. All she and Taurasi have done on the international stage is win and now the pair stands alone with five gold medals—the first basketball players ever to accomplish that feat.

While Bird is retiring from international basketball, Taurasi left the door open after the game in her on-court interview that she'll play in Paris in 2024. She isn't actually certain she'll play, saying: “We'll see.” But, Bird threw a quick jab at her 39-year-old friend for even considering it. “Hahaha, idiot,” Bird said laughing while standing next to Taurasi and talking with the AP. The US has now won the last seven Olympic gold medals matching the country’s men’s program for the most ever in a row. The men did it from 1936-68. With Bird orchestrating the flow of games and Taurasi’s scoring, they have been a constant force for the US, providing stability for the women’s program since the 2004 Athens Games. They have won all 38 of the games at the Olympics they’ve competed in. (Read the full story)

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