By DOUG FEINBERG, AP Basketball Writer The U.S. women’s basketball team is on a historic run, winning seven straight Olympic gold medals.
While no one has come close to ending that streak, the rest of the world is getting better. The Americans , who haven’t lost an Olympic contest since 1992, won by an average of 16 points in the Tokyo Games. That was their smallest margin of victory since the streak started at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
The biggest challenge for the U.S. will once again be the limited prep time to practice as unit.
The complete team will be together for the first time right before the Paris Games. “The rest of the world is definitely improving,” six-time Olympic participant Diana Taurasi said. “It’s not as easy as it’s looked over the years.
” The 42-year-old Taurasi would know; she has been a part of the last five U.S. Olympic teams.
She will be going for a record sixth gold medal in Paris. The U.S.
is trying to break a tie with the American men’s basketball team for most consecutive gold medals. The men won seven straight from 1936-68. The two basketball teams hold the longest streak for golds in a traditional team sport in Olympic history.
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