Kelsey Plum Relied on her Faith in God to Lead Olympic Gold Medal Run for U.S. Women’s Basketball Event
By Movieguide® Staff
As the 2020 Olympic Games are underway in Tokyo, the U.S., Japan, and China battle for the most gold medals. Helping team USA is the women’s 3×3 basketball team, who defeated the Russian Committee Team (ROC) to earn the inaugural event’s Gold Medal.
The U.S. team defeated ROC 18-15, which pushed their Olympic record to eight wins and only one loss. In the new basketball event, players score 1 point for made baskets inside the traditional “three-point” line and two points from behind the line.
WNBA player Stephanie Dolson led the way for her team with seven points, followed closely by teammate Kelsey Plum, who had five.
Over the team’s nine games, Plum led all scorers for the U.S. women’s 3×3 team with 55 total points. Her impressive numbers are even more astounding, considering Plum tore her Achilles in 2020 while preparing for Tokyo.
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Plum thanked God for her health and the opportunity to compete.
“I just want to thank a lot of people: God, my mom, my family, my friends,” Plum said. “I want to thank USA Basketball. They could’ve quit on me. They could’ve said, ‘We’re going to bring somebody else,’ and they didn’t. I’m just super grateful to my teammates, I mean, man, this was a battle.”
"We're going to the Olympics baby." 🇺🇸
Kelsey Plum talked about how grateful she is after Team USA qualified for the Olympics in 3×3 basketball 🙌 @Kelseyplum10
(via @FIBA3x3) pic.twitter.com/hQ1qqmnATL
— espnW (@espnW) May 31, 2021
Plum was drafted no. 1 overall by the WNBA’s San Antonio Silver Stars in 2017. At the time, Plum revealed that her transition to the professional league was difficult.
“I kind of had to go through life and figure out what’s important,” Plum told Sports Spectrum in 2019. “It takes a lot of failure and mistakes and humility to be able to see that I need a relationship with God.”
Throughout the physical and spiritual trials, the 26-year-old athlete continues to trust that God has an ultimate plan for her life.
“I’m super grateful because I think that He’s always really been very precise about exactly where He wanted me to be and He’s put certain people in my life to really help me,” Plum said in an interview in 2020. “I’m just super grateful, so I think for me, as I continue to grow into a woman and a woman of faith, I try to make sure that I’m a light.”
#OlympicHERstory right before our eyes! https://t.co/mB8QoGtk5Q
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) July 28, 2021
