What Team USA is Hoping For in the 2024 Olympics & Paralympics

The biggest thing I'm looking forward to is

that moment when I'm walking out for my first match

or for the finals, I'm really gonna soak that in

'cause I'm not gonna get that opportunity many times.

[upbeat music]

I think what's super special about field hockey is

that we're gonna be playing in the 1924 Olympic Stadium

for the opening ceremonies.

And like I'm a huge Olympic fan, so to have

that historical roots in the games is incredibly special.

What's less serious is I love croissants

and like in my head, Paris is the city of croissants

and so I'm like really hoping that I can just fuel off

of croissants the entire time. [laughs]

When we went to Pan Ams, it was like a similar,

like it was a village, it was Pan Am village

and just being in the village was so cool

'cause you're walking around all these like amazing

athletes that you know of.

The hopes for this year's games is obviously

to win another gold.

This will be our third consecutive gold medal if we're

successful, which has never been done in the history

of our sport in the Paralympic games.

So we're kind of chasing history as a group.

But for me, this will be my last Paralympic games.

So success is not only defined by on the court success,

but I'm very much looking forward

to transitioning into the next phase of my life.

And I just know that when

that buzzer sounds in my last team USA game in Paris 2024,

there's gonna be tons of emotions,

but I'll be able to look back on my career

with absolutely no regrets.

A lot of highs, a lot of lows,

and I wouldn't change anything for a different outcome.

Any point in the journey.

Croissants and macarons, [laughs]

and hopefully celebrating a gold

medal with some macarons at the Eiffel Tower.

So you may think my hopes

for this games are winning a medal,

and I know that every great athlete should be always be like

medal, medal, medal, medal.

But this games,

or could be four to five, five to four other armless archers

for the first time in the history of the sport.

In fact, the number one ranked female archer in the world

right now has no arms.

And so to have that, whether I win

or lose, whether I make it

or not make it, like having that legacy continued

to carry on the armless archer legacy,

which is more about showing the world

that anything is possible.

Like that's honestly what I really want out of this one.

It's my gold medal.

It's my Michael Jordan moment.

I hope to win a medal at this year's games.

I hope to enjoy it and make a lot of memories.

It's just something that I can maybe tell my kids about

or you know, my grandkids about.

But just like understanding how special

of an experience this is, whether we win a medal

or not, this is something not many people get to do.

For the games this year,

I'm most looking forward to hopefully reaching our goal

and being on the top of the podium,

but also just getting to showcase the incredible talent

and skills and hard work that we've invested

as a team into this journey.

I'm really excited for just the opportunity

to play in the Olympics.

I think no matter if you've done it once

or twice, three times, it's such a gift to be there.

I think a big part of being an athlete

and being an Olympic athlete is kind of having

to battle the anticipation and the expectations,

and I feel like I do a pretty good job of doing that.

You know, I do sit here and say that I want two golds

and yes, that's obviously the goal

and I prepare for that goal every day.

I'm training, right?

But my real goal is to just enjoy the whole journey,

you know, to be there with my teammates and to compete hard,

but also enjoy this process

because, you know, not a lot of people get

to be in the position I am and I'm very grateful.

Well, the hope is, you know, one in Rio and one in Tokyo,

might as well keep winning, so gold in Paris.

Hopefully another gold would be amazing.

That's definitely my main goal going in.

But really just kind of taking it all in

and appreciating the amazing gift

of the Olympics that I was given.

So my hopes for this year's games are

definitely to win a medal.

Specifically gold.

I mean, I'll be happy with any kind of medal

and bringing a medal back

for the US is always the biggest goal for me.

I would really like to take a gold medal

and if I don't, I can and will cry.

But also, we're gonna be in Paris

and despite the fact that I am lactose intolerant,

I will be celebrating my win and/or medal

with butter and cheese and milk and ice cream and chocolate.

My hope for this year's game is to go out there, have fun,

show the world who I am,

and hopefully come home with an Olympic gold medal.

My hope is gold.

The goal is gold.

If we do win, this would be a three-peat.

So I'm really proud of how far our team has come

and all that we continue to overcome.

What I'm looking forward to most for this year's games is

the fact that we're gonna have fans, you know, the fact

that we're gonna have spectators

and we'll be able to be in an arena and feel like the energy

and excitement behind it.

My hopes is that I just get that full Olympic experience.

I hope to watch other sports.

I'd love to watch sport climbing.

The thing I'll be looking forward

to the most would be the closing ceremony

with the gold medal around our necks.