Dawn Staley basked in a familiar championship glow on Saturday evening, celebrating the United States women's soccer team's 1-0 Brazil to secure an Olympic gold medal.
The dynastic South Carolina women's basketball coach posted a series of photos on her X account, featuring Staley alongside USWNT coach Emma Hayes , former star Megan Rapinoe and forward Sophia Smith , among others.
"IT’S A GOLD MEDAL PARTY INSIDE MY CITY….PARIS IS MY CITY," Staley captioned her post, which received more than 6,000 likes on the social media platform within the first two hours.
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Staley is preparing for her 17th season at the helm in Columbia, transforming the historically unremarkable Gamecock program into serial winners with three national championships since 2017 and fresh off a perfect 39-0 season. One of the most respected coaches in all of basketball, Staley used her status for a dream sports junkie getaway in Paris this summer.
Posting photos alongside sporting celebrities Alex Rodriguez, Carl Lewis and Tom Brady , Staley also poked around seemingly every sport contested in the City of Light. Staley discussed watching volleyball, gymnastics and even artistic swimming on her X feed, naturally giving special attention to the 5x5 women's basketball squad and star alumni A'ja Wilson as well.
Ahead of Saturday's gold medal soccer game, Staley tweeted about her wager with former Gamecock and third-overall 2024 WNBA Draft pick Kamilla Cardoso , writing, "Yooooooo [Cardoso] and I have a wager on this game. If she wins I wear a Brazilian jersey on the sideline for a game….if I win she wears during tunnel walk and IG live.
Despite a largely dominant effort from the Seleção, Mallory Swanson notched the games only goal just before the hour mark, leading Staley to circle back on her bet. "Hey [Cardoso]! What size USWNT jersey you need? Coach got you!!! Let’s gooooo!!!," Staley wrote in a subsequent tweet.
While Hayes has only been in the United States for a few months, announced as the USWNT head coach in November and coaching her first game in May, she and Staley have formed a quick, unlikely friendship in that period at the Nike Think Tank, saying "Dawn and I are two of a kind. And honestly, what an incredible coach she is."
Staley offered more direct kudos to her new friend on X as well following Saturday's match, writing "Yeah [Hayes ]! Way to take on this task and be great at it. Gold. Gold. Gold baby!!!!" She witnessed American excellence continue on the hardwood later that afternoon as well, as the American men's basketball team fended off a spirited French resistance to claim another gold for Team USA.
With the Olympics winding down Sunday afternoon, Staley returns to Columbia to prepare for likely another dominant season from Colonial Life Arena. While Cardoso's departure marks the loss of South Carolina's leading scorer and rebounders, Staley is set to return her next nine most productive players in 24-25.
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