Brittney Griner composed herself within the restroom. All she wanted was a second earlier than she was able to have fun.

Then the opening notes of “The Star-Spangled Banner” performed. Tears streamed down Griner’s face as she stood on high of the medal stand along with her third Olympic gold medal round her neck.

“This gold medal goes to carry a particular place amongst the 2 others I used to be lucky to win,” Griner stated.

In her first worldwide event since getting back from an almost 10-month detention in Russia, Griner helped america to a historic eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal. After being launched by way of a prisoner swap, receiving letters from followers worldwide and getting the chance to return to basketball, Griner had a sense her eyes would begin to water somewhat bit on the rostrum if america gained. However the depth of emotion she felt as she wiped tears from her eyes after the anthem appeared to shock even her.

“My nation fought for me to get again and I used to be in a position to carry residence gold for my nation,” Griner stated. “There’s simply no higher feeling being right here on the very best stage that you could be on.”

Griner averaged 7.3 factors and 4.3 rebounds off the bench throughout the Olympics. She scored 4 factors within the last that got here right down to the ultimate shot as america survived for a one-point victory over France. Irrespective of how a lot she performed all through the event, Griner was energetic and engaged along with her teammates, encouraging them on the sideline in timeouts and hyping them up on the court docket.

“Whenever you consider somebody that’s a warrior, that’s a trooper, that’s going to be there it doesn’t matter what and goes to be constant and a real skilled, it’s BG,” Olympic most beneficial participant A’ja Wilson stated. “She confirmed that tonight. She reveals that all the time.”

Griner has made her reintegration to on a regular basis life look seamless. She returned in December 2022 and appeared at main occasions, together with the Met Gala and the Tremendous Bowl. She was again on the court docket for the start of the 2023 WNBA season and performed in 31 video games whereas averaging 17.5 factors and 6.3 rebounds. She printed a ebook detailing her expertise within the penal colony the place she labored making navy uniforms.

However U.S. head coach Cheryl Reeve knew she wanted to maintain checking on Griner. Griner was presupposed to take part within the crew’s Olympic qualifier video games in Belgium in February, however she “perhaps simply wanted somewhat extra time,” Reeve stated.

“Greater than what she thought.”

Boarding the worldwide flight was a giant second for Griner, longtime teammate Diana Taurasi stated. The primary practice journey, Griner stated, was tough. The final practice she rode abroad was a jail practice.

“Whenever you see BG across the crew, her outward [looks like] she’s OK,” Reeve stated. “You realize that inside, there’s loads happening there, however she all the time presents as her highest model of herself regardless of all that she’s been by way of. And she or he is grateful to be right here.

Reeve repeated it for emphasis: “She is so grateful to be right here.”

Griner credit remedy for serving to her get again onto the court docket. She praised her teammates for assist all through the Olympics in France, which started in Lille, a metropolis close to the northern French border close to Belgium, and resulted in Paris the place the crew performed three knockout rounds.

After surviving the hardest take a look at of all of them — a bodily France crew fueled by its residence crowd — Griner hugged her spouse, Cherelle. She plans to have fun the win by taking a photograph of the couple’s new child son with the gold medal. Then Griner will get again to work.

The Phoenix Mercury return from the WNBA Olympic break with back-to-back video games on Aug. 16-17.