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New York Liberty forward/center and native of Queens, N.Y., Tina Charles has been selected as one of 25 finalists for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team it was announced today by the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee.

Charles, who was a member of the U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team’s gold medal winning squad at the 2012 Summer Games in London, will be attempting to be selected to the team for a second time. While the Liberty has had several former U.S. Olympians on its roster in the past, should Charles be named to the U.S. Olympic Team later this year, she would become the first-ever New York Liberty player to represent the United States in the Olympics while simultaneously playing for the Liberty.

In addition to her helping the United States capture a gold medal at the 2012 Olympic games, Charles has enjoyed a decorated international playing career, also earning gold with the United States at the 2010 and 2014 FIBA World Championships.

Of the 25 of the nation’s top women’s basketball players have been named as finalists for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team, the list includes 15 athletes who have earned a combined 41 Olympic and FIBA World Championship gold medals, The USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee will select the official 12-member U.S. Olympic Team later this year.

Further, the USA Basketball Women’s National Team will conduct a training camp Feb. 21-23 at the University of Connecticut. Athletes taking part in the minicamp, which is expected to be the final training before the 2016 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team is selected, will be announced at a later date and will come from the pool of finalists.

“Naming the Olympic Team finalists is another step in our selection process,” said Carol Callan, USA Basketball Women’s National Team Director and chair of the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee. “Because of the quality and talent in the USA National Team pool, every time we pare the list it is a difficult task. Yet, we eventually have to get down to a 12-member team, so we conscientiously look at the present goal of winning a gold medal at the Rio Olympic Games with an eye to sustaining our success in the future. This list of finalists is a mix of veterans, youth, international savvy and USA Basketball experience.

“What adds to the challenge of picking a team is the devotion and commitment all of our athletes have to our USA National Team and representing their country, especially given the year-round play many of them have in the WNBA and on overseas teams.”

“I think the committee has a tough decision ahead of it,” said USA and Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma, who has directed the USA National Team to an overall 23-0 record and gold medals at the 2012 Olympic Games and the 2010 and 2014 FIBA World Championships. “When I look at this list of athletes, we could split them down the middle and have two very competitive teams. We have a great mix of gold medalists and players who are hungry to play in their first Olympics. There is versatility at all positions. Our posts are the strongest we’ve seen in years, we have guys who can shoot, guys who can defend, and I’m just happy I don’t have to make the decision as to who will be playing in Rio.”

Finalists for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team include: Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx), Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever), Tina Charles (New York Liberty), Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky), Skylar Diggins (Dallas Wings), Stefanie Dolson (Washington Mystics), Candice Dupree (Phoenix Mercury), Sylvia Fowles (Minnesota Lynx), Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury),Briann January (Indiana Fever), Jantel Lavender (Los Angeles Sparks), Kayla McBride (San Antonio Stars), Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream), Maya Moore (Minnesota Lynx), Chiney Ogwumike(Connecticut Sun), Nnemkadi Ogwumike (Los Angeles Sparks), Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks), Danielle Robinson (San Antonio Stars), Odyssey Sims (Dallas Wings), Breanna Stewart (University of Connecticut), Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury), Courtney Vandersloot (Chicago Sky) and Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota Lynx).

Additionally, Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm), who took part in the USA National Team’s minicamp in Las Vegas this past May, was added to the USA National Team pool and is among the 25 finalists. The No. 1 pick in the 2015 WNBA Draft and the 2015 WNBA Rookie of the Year, Loyd is a two-time world champion with USA Basketball. She helped the 2010 USA U17 World Championship Team collect gold with an 8-0 record, and she returned as a member of the 2014 USA 3x3 World Championship Team that swept its competition for a 9-0 record and gold medal at the 2014 FIBA 3x3 World Championship.

“I think her addition is because of some of the success she had during the summer playing in Seattle,” said Auriemma on Loyd’s selection to the USA National Team pool and list of U.S. Olympic Team finalists. “There is a concerted effort to get as many guards into this training camp as possible because we can’t just think about now, we also have to think about the future. She is one of the best young players in the league and deserves to be there.”

Included on the roster of finalists are three-time Olympic gold medalists Bird, Catchings and Taurasi (2004, 2008, 2012); two-time Olympic gold medalists Augustus, Fowles and Parker (2008, 2012); and Charles, McCoughtry, Moore and Whalen, who have each earned one Olympic gold medal (2012).

Further, Bird is a four-time USA World Championship Team member and three-time FIBA World Championship gold medalist; Catchings, Charles, McCoughtry, Moore, Taurasi and Whalen have captured two World Championship gold medals; Fowles earned gold at the 2010 Worlds; and Augustus, Griner, Nneka Ogwumike, Sims and Stewart earned a gold medal at the 2014 FIBA World Championship.

Additionally, Augustus, Bird, Catchings, Parker and Taurasi returned with a bronze medal from the 2006 FIBA World Championship.

Last October Bird, Delle Donne, Dolson, Dupree, Griner, McCoughtry, Parker, Robinson, Stewart and Vandersloot participated in the USA National Team’s European tour and aided the U.S. to a 4-0 record against a trio of European professional clubs and the Italian National Team.
Auriemma will be assisted through the 2016 Olympic Games by DePaul University’s Doug Bruno, the Minnesota Lynx’ Cheryl Reeve and University of South Carolina’s Dawn Staley.

The final, 12-player 2016 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team will be selected by the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee. Chaired by Callan, the committee includes: WNBA appointees Reneé Brown, WNBA chief of basketball operations and player relations; Dan Hughes, head coach and general manager of the San Antonio Stars; and Chris Sienko, vice president and general manager of the Connecticut Sun; and three-time Olympic and two-time FIBA World Championship gold medalist Katie Smith, who played in nearly 200 games for USA Basketball from 1993-2008 and serves as the athlete representative.

2016 Olympic Games

The 2016 Olympic Games will be held Aug. 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro. A total of 12 nations will compete in the Olympic women’s basketball competition. In addition to host Brazil and the USA, which earned its berth by virtue of winning gold at the 2014 FIBA World Championship, the gold-medal winning teams from each of FIBA’s five zones have qualified for Rio, including Australia (FIBA Oceania), Canada (FIBA Americas), Japan (FIBA Asia), Senegal (FIBA Africa) and Serbia (FIBA Europe).

The top-placing teams in each zone tournament -- not including the champions -- qualified for the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament (June 13-19, 2016 @ Nantes, France), and those teams include: Cameroon and Nigeria from FIBA Africa; Argentina, Cuba and Venezuela from FIBA Americas; China and South Korea from FIBA Asia; Belarus, France, Spain and Turkey from FIBA Europe; and New Zealand from FIBA Oceania.

U.S. Olympic women’s basketball teams have earned a record seven gold medals, one silver medal and one bronze medal, and are 58-3 all-time in Olympic competition. The 2016 U.S. team will enter Rio riding a 41-game Olympic winning streak that dates back to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics bronze medal game.

Since the inception of the 1995-96 USA Basketball Women’s National Team program, the USA National Team, in addition to its record five straight Olympic gold medals, has captured four FIBA World Championship gold medals, one FIBA World Championship bronze medal and one FIBA Americas Championship gold medal, while compiling a remarkable 86-1 record for a .989 winning percentage in those events. Further, USA National Teams in exhibition contests since 1995 boast of an 186-15 record (.925 winning percentage).

USA Basketball

Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA Basketball, chaired by Jerry Colangelo, is a nonprofit organization and the national governing body for men’s and women’s basketball in the United States. As the recognized governing body for basketball in the U.S. by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), USA Basketball is responsible for the selection, training and fielding of USA teams that compete in FIBA-sponsored international competitions, as well as for some national competitions, and for the development of youth basketball initiatives that address player development, coach education and safety.

USA Basketball men’s and women’s teams between 2012-15 compiled a spectacular 151-6 win-loss record in FIBA and FIBA Americas competitions, the World University Games and the Nike Hoop Summit, and posted a 92-15 win-loss record in official FIBA and FIBA Americas 3x3 competitions.

USA teams are the current men’s and women’s champions in the Olympics; men’s FIBA World Cup and women’s FIBA World Championship; men’s and women’s FIBA U19 and U17 World Championships; men’s and women’s FIBA Americas U18 Championships; men’s FIBA Americas U16 Championship; the FIBA 3x3 Women’s World Championship; and the women’s Youth Olympic Games. USA Basketball currently ranks No. 1 in all five of FIBA’s world-ranking categories, including combined, men’s, women’s, boys and girls.

For further information about USA Basketball, go to the official website of USA Basketball at www.usab.com and connect with us on facebook.com/usabasketball, twitter.com/usabasketball,plus.google.com/+usabasketball, instagram.com/usabasketball and youtube.com/usab.

The Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro are set to begin on August 5th and there is an issue that may not be getting the attention it requires.

The Summer Olympics has events that occur on both land and water but there is danger lurking in the water in Rio. According to tests commissioned by The Associated Press, there are high viral and in some instances bacteria counts along shorelines and in the bay or lagoon where aquatic events such as rowing, canoeing and sailing will take place.

As of December 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) only requires Brazil to test for bacterial markers although high viral counts have been recorded. Rio’s waterways are highly contaminated because sewage is not treated. The water contamination is so bad that 6-7% of athletes who competed in pre-Olympic rowing and sailing events in Rio became ill. In their bid to host the Olympics, Brazil promised to clean their waterways by the time the Olympics rolled into town but officials have acknowledged they are falling short of that promise.

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