For many athletes, an Olympic gold medal is the culmination of a life they have focused on achieving nothing else. but Jackie Young, who recently won gold at the Tokyo 2020 Games, was only seriously considering competing less than two weeks ago.
On Wednesday, July 28th, Jackie won gold with Team USA as one of four athletes – together with Stefanie Dolson, Allisha Gray and Kelsey plum– in the 3×3 women’s basketball team. This marked the inaugural year of competition for the event, with the Americans leading ROC in the gold medal game with a score of 18-15.
But Jackie, a 23-year-old WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces player, didn’t have much time to prepare. To Katie Lou SamuelsonWho was supposed to be the fourth member of the group and tested positive for COVID-19 just a week before the competition began, Jackie received a call on July 17 while vacationing in Florida during the league’s month-long Olympic break.
