Dawn Staley will join U.S. delegation at Paris Olympics opening ceremony

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD)- South Carolina’s Dawn Staley is headed to Paris this week.

The University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach will join First Lady Jill Biden as part of the presidential delegation attending the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday.

As a player, Staley was part of the USA Team that won gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and the 2004 Athens Olympics — the same year she was selected as a U.S. flag bearer.

She also led the U.S. women’s national team to a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as a coach.

Two of Staley’s former Gamecocks players are competing in this year’s Games. A’ja Wilson will take the court for Team USA while Laeticia Amihere is representing Team Canada.

Staley’s return to France comes eight months after the Gamecocks opened the 2023-2024 season with a resounding win against Notre Dame in the first NCAA women’s basketball game on Parisian soil.

Other members of Biden’s opening ceremony delegation include U.S. Ambassador to France and Monaco Denise Campbell Bauer, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, California Sen. Alex Padilla, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Chairman of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games Casey Wasserman, and three-time Olympic figure skater Brian Boitano.

The opening ceremony will be held on July 26, 2024.

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