SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Illinois State women's basketball student-athlete Jada Stinson has been selected to Puerto Rico's roster and will compete in the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, as announced by the Puerto Rico Basketball Federation on Wednesday evening.
The Puerto Rico women's basketball team will be making its historic first appearance at the Olympics on July 27, as they debut versus China. The squad will also face Australia and Belgium in group play.
"It means so much to represent an island that has so much pride and love for one another," said Stinson. "Excited isn't even the best word that can describe how I feel to be playing in the Olympics. I can't wait to make unforgettable memories in Tokyo!"
Stinson joins the elite duo of Charlotte Lewis and Cathy Boswell as the only Illinois State women's basketball student-athletes to compete at an Olympic Games. Lewis represented Team USA in 1976 in Montreal, while Boswell donned the red, white and blue during the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games.
"We are so proud of Jada," said head coach Kristen Gillespie. "I can't even imagine the excitement she is feeling right now. Having the opportunity to compete at the very highest level, and to be called an Olympian, is an achievement that very few athletes every experience. We are thrilled to call her a Redbird."
Stinson, who signed with the Redbirds earlier this spring as a grad transfer, has been training with the Puerto Rico National Team in San Juan since early May. The Fayetteville, N.C. native was first called up to the national team in March of this year for the Centrobasket Tournament in El Salvador and most recently helped Puerto Rico in its FIBA Women's AmeriCup run in June that culminated in a second-place finish, falling to the U.S. in the championship. Stinson and the rest of the team will depart for Japan this Sunday, July 11.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics begin on Friday, July 23 with women's basketball group play opening on Sunday, July 25. Puerto Rico is in Group C (joining Australia, Belgium and China) and will make its Olympic debut versus China on July 27 at 7 a.m. CT. The quarterfinals are set for Aug. 3-4 with the semifinals on Aug. 6 and the medal games set for Aug. 7.
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