(Reuters) – Brittney Griner and college basketball standout Caitlin Clark were among the 14 players invited to an Olympic training camp next week in Cleveland, Ohio, the USA Basketball women’s national team said on Thursday.
Nine former Olympians have been invited to participate in April 3-5 camp, a group that includes five-times gold medallist Diana Taurasi.
The other former Olympians are Griner, who was freed from a Russian penal colony in a high-profile prisoner exchange in 2022, Ariel Atkins, Chelsea Gray, Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum, Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young.
Griner missed the entire 2022 WNBA season while she was detained in Russia but returned to action in 2023 and averaged 17.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for the Phoenix Mercury.
USA Basketball said Clark will attend the training camp contingent on the University of Iowa’s progression through the ongoing NCAA Tournament.
Iowa are one of 16 teams remaining in the tournament and will look to take the next step towards a national championship when they face Colorado on Saturday.
Clark has won three gold medals with junior national teams and is expected to be the top pick in the Women’s National Basketball Association’s April 15 draft.
At this year’s Paris Olympics, Team USA will be shooting for an eighth consecutive gold medal in women’s basketball.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Ed Osmond)
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