Olympic basketball groups set for new tournament format

By OlympicTalkFeb 2, 2021, 6:41 AM EST

Getty Images

At the 2019 FIBA World Cup, the U.S. men’s basketball team was knocked out of medal contention by France en route to its worst-ever major tournament result of seventh place.

Its first opponent at the Tokyo Olympics on July 25: France.

The U.S. women and men learned their groups for the Tokyo Games as FIBA held its draws on Tuesday.

The top-ranked U.S. women, winners of their last 49 Olympic games (48 by double digits) are grouped with France, Japan and their first opponent, Nigeria, on July 27.

France is the only nation other than the U.S. to make the last two Olympic women’s semifinals. The French player pool includes a former UConn standout who could have succeeded Sue Bird as the next great American point guard.

The U.S. men are grouped with France, Iran and the winner of a last-chance qualifying tournament in Victoria, B.C., potentially Canada.

Canada and France have the most NBA players after the U.S. Canada last qualified for the Olympics in 2000 and last played the U.S. at the Games in 1988, the final Olympics before NBA participation.

👇 The groups of the #Tokyo2020 Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament!#Basketball @Olympics @Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/Egiicj7Fw3

— FIBA (@FIBA) February 2, 2021

In a change, the Olympic basketball tournaments will each have three groups of four teams. In the past, it was two groups of six teams.

The top two teams from each group, plus the two best third-place teams, advance to the quarterfinals.

The U.S. women seek a seventh consecutive Olympic title to match the basketball record held by U.S. men’s teams from the first seven Olympic tournaments from 1936-68.

Dawn Staley is the new head coach, succeeding Geno Auriemma, with the usual overflow of talent in the player pool. A roster of 12 should include four-time gold medalists Diana Taurasi and Bird.

Gregg Popovich succeeded Mike Krzyzewski as men’s head coach. Roster options are up in the air given the tight turnaround from the NBA season.

A potential NBA Finals Game 7 would be the day before the July 23 Opening Ceremony.

USA Basketball hasn’t announced parameters for player selection, but those on teams that make the conference finals could be ruled out of Olympic consideration altogether given a training camp is expected earlier in July.

So far, no NBA superstar has publicly committed to or ruled out accepting a U.S. Olympic roster spot if offered.

OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!

Follow @nbcolympictalk

Summer McIntosh breaks 400m individual medley world record, extends historic week

By OlympicTalkApr 1, 2023, 7:03 PM EDT

Getty

Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh broke her second world record this week, lowering the 400m individual medley mark on Saturday.

McIntosh, a 16-year-old who trains in Sarasota, Florida, clocked 4 minutes, 25.87 seconds at the Canadian Championships in Toronto.

She took down Hungarian Katinka Hosszu‘s world record of 4:26.36 from the 2016 Rio Olympics. Before Saturday, McIntosh had the fourth-fastest time in history of 4:28.61.

“It’s always nice to set world records,” McIntosh said.

On Tuesday, McIntosh broke the 400m freestyle world record, becoming the youngest swimmer to break a world record in an individual Olympic event since Katie Ledecky in 2013.

McIntosh also this week became the fourth-fastest woman in history in the 200m individual medley and the eighth-fastest woman in history in the 200m butterfly.

In each of her four races this week, she also broke the world junior record as the fastest woman in history under the age of 19.

She is entered to swim the 200m free on the meet’s final day on Sunday. She is already the eighth-fastest woman in history in that event.

McIntosh, whose mom swam the 1984 Olympic 200m fly and whose sister competed at last week’s world figure skating championships, placed fourth in the Tokyo Olympic 400m free at age 14.

Last summer, she won the 200m fly and 400m IM at the world championships, becoming the youngest individual world champion since 2011.

This summer, she could be at the center of a showdown in the 400m free at the world championships with reigning world champion Ledecky and reigning Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus of Australia. They are the three fastest women in history in the event.

Around age 7, McIntosh transcribed Ledecky quotes and put them on her wall.

MORE: McIntosh chose swimming and became Canada’s big splash

OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!

Follow @nbcolympictalk

Hilary Knight leads new-look U.S. women’s hockey roster for world championship

By OlympicTalkApr 1, 2023, 9:02 AM EDT

Getty

Hilary Knight headlines a U.S. women’s hockey roster for this month’s world championship that lacks some of the biggest names from last year’s Olympic silver-medal team. Changes have been made as the U.S. looks to end losing streaks to Canada, both overall and in major finals.

The full roster is here. Worlds start Wednesday in Brampton, Ontario, and run through the gold-medal game on April 16.

It was already known that the team would be without stalwart forwards Kendall Coyne Schofield, who plans to return to the national team after having her first child this summer, and Brianna Decker, who announced her retirement last month.

Notable cuts include the No. 1 goalies from the last two Olympics: Alex Cavallini, who returned from Christmas childbirth for the tryout camp this past week, and Maddie Rooney, the breakout of the 2018 Olympic champion team.

Cavallini, 31, was bidding to become the first player to make an Olympic or world team after childbirth since Jenny Potter, who played at the Olympics in 2002, 2006 and 2010 as a mom, plus at several world championships, including less than three months after childbirth in 2007.

Forward Hannah Brandt, who played on the top line at last year’s Olympics with Knight and Coyne Schofield, also didn’t make the team.

In all, 13 of the 25 players on the team are Olympians, including three-time Olympic medalists forward Amanda Kessel and defender Lee Stecklein.

The next generation includes forward Taylor Heise, 23, who led the 2022 World Championship with seven goals and was the 2022 NCAA Player of the Year at Minnesota.

The team includes two teens — 19-year-old defender Haley Winn and 18-year-old forward Tessa Janecke — who were also the only teens at last week’s 46-player tryout camp. Janecke, a Penn State freshman, is set to become the youngest U.S. forward to play at an Olympics or worlds since Brandt in 2012.

Abbey Levy, a 6-foot-1 goalie from Boston College, made her first world team, joining veterans Nicole Hensley and Aerin Frankel.

Last summer, Canada repeated as world champion by beating the U.S. in the final, six months after beating the U.S. in the Olympic final. Canada is on its longest global title streak since winning all five Olympic or world titles between 1999 and 2004.

Also at last summer’s worlds, the 33-year-old Knight broke the career world championship record for points (now up to 89). She also has the most goals in world championship history (53). Knight, already the oldest U.S. Olympic women’s hockey player in history, will become the second-oldest American to play at a worlds after Cammi Granato, who was 34 at her last worlds in 2005.

The Canadians are on a four-game win streak versus the Americans, capping a comeback in their recent seven-game rivalry series from down three games to none. Their 5-0 win in the decider in February was their largest margin of victory over the U.S. since 2005.

Last May, former AHL coach John Wroblewski was named U.S. head coach to succeed Joel Johnson, the Olympic coach.

OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!

Follow @nbcolympictalk

More: Olympics

More: Olympics

More: Olympics