Caitlin Clark Gives Honest Answer on Whether She’s ‘Bummed’ About Missing Olympics

Kristen Wong | Jul 31, 2024

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

While the U.S. women’s Olympic basketball team looks to capture its eighth straight gold in Paris this summer, Caitlin Clark remains stateside splitting her time between Indiana Fever practices and, apparently, a longstanding golf hobby. 

During a Fever media availability on Tuesday, Clark told reporters that the WNBA All-Star/Olympic break has been good for her mental health after an “emotionally exhausting” first half of the season. 

She also gave her honest thoughts on how she felt about missing out on what could have been her first Olympics.

“No, I mean, I think the break’s definitely been good," Clark said (at the 4:30 mark in the video) after a reporter asked if she was "bummed" about not playing in the Olympics. “It’s certainly cool. It’s like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you’re only going to ever get in four years. So I wouldn’t say I’m necessarily bummed. I think it gives you something to work for sure and something to dream of.”

“Four years comes fast,” continued Clark. “It makes me think of, like, that’s your time in college, and I feel like I was just a freshman… It shows you that you gotta start working now if you want that to be your dream in four years. So I think that’s it for me, you know, work hard and hopefully you can be there.”

Clark was notably left off Team USA’s Olympic roster this summer despite her undeniable impact in the WNBA so far. In her rookie year, the former Iowa guard has routinely helped shatter attendance records while also setting a few records of her own, including one for the most single-game assists (19) as well as most assists by a rookie in an All-Star Game (10). 

Team USA rolled to a 26-point win over Japan in their group stage opener earlier this week and appears to be doing just fine without the Fever rookie standout, with veterans like A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart leading the team’s campaign for more Olympic gold. Team USA will play Belgium next on Thursday.

Clark and the Fever won’t be back in action until Aug. 16, set to play against Olympian great Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury.