2008 Olympic Gold Medalists To Be Honored During 2009 WNBA All-Star Game

July 24, 2009 - Colorado Springs, Colo.

Cappie Pondexter is one of seven players who will be honored on July 25.

Seven members of the gold medal winning 2008 U.S. Olympic women's basketball team and 2008 U.S. Olympic Team assistant coach Mike Thibault, will be presented during the 2009 WNBA All-Star Game on July 25 with their rings from USA Basketball signifying their outstanding achievements in Beijing. Former USA Basketball President Val Ackerman will present three-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Smith; two-time gold medalists Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings, Diana Taurasi and Tina Thompson; as well as Sylvia Fowles, Cappie Pondexter and U.S. assistsant coach Thibault, who collected their first Olympic gold medal in Beijing, with their 2008 commemorative rings from USA Basketball.

-The WNBA is honored to be able to partner with USA Basketball in order to pay tribute to all the hard work the USA Basketball Women's National Team put in leading up to and during the 2008 Olympic Games," said Renee Brown, WNBA chief of basketball operations and player relations and chair of the 2005-08 USA Basketball Women's National Team Committee. -The USA has an amazing streak of four gold medals at the Olympics. The dedication shown by these athletes and coaches over the years in order to continue to win Olympic gold, often goes unnoticed. Everyone around the world sees the end result of the hours of training and to be able to recognize these world-class athletes and coaches makes me very proud to be associated with such an amazing group of people."

The American women dominated their opponents by an average margin of victory of 37.6 points a game en route to an unblemished 8-0 slate and the USA's fourth consecutive gold medal and sixth overall in eight Olympiads. In capturing the 2008 gold medal, the USA became the first women's traditional team sport to claim four straight gold medals. Further, the U.S. extended its Olympic winning streak to 33 games, dating back to 1992 bronze medal victory over Cuba.