Yvonne Ejim is bound for the Olympics.
The Gonzaga women’s basketball star has been selected as one of the 12 players on Canada’s roster for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
“I am so incredibly happy and overjoyed at the fact that I get to represent my country at the Olympic level and that I get to compete at that stage,” Ejim expressed in a news release.
“It was always a dream of mine ever since I started with Canada Basketball and the fact that now I am living it is beyond what I imagined,” she continued. “I am also so proud of myself for continuing to work until this point, but I think the best thing was all the people that supported me up until this point, including my family, all the teammates I’ve had, and coaches that I’ve been coached under. This truly would not have been possible without all of them, so I am grateful.”
Last season, the 6-foot-1 Ejim, a native of Calgary, Alberta, averaged 19.7 points and 8.7 rebounds for Gonzaga, which ended the season with a 32-4 record and made it to the Sweet 16. She’s the only returning starter for Gonzaga next season.
This will be Team Canada’s eighth appearance in the Olympic women’s basketball tournament since its debut at the Montreal 1976 Games. The Canadian women secured their fourth consecutive Olympic qualification by finishing third in the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualification Tournament in Sopron, Hungary, in February.
Canada’s best Olympic performance in women’s basketball was a fourth-place finish at the Los Angeles Games in 1984. Ranked fifth in the FIBA world rankings, Canada finished fourth at the most recent FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in 2022 and earned a bronze medal at the 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup.
Last week, Canada triumphed over Portugal 91-65 in an exhibition game in Victoria, British Columbia.
The team will continue their training camp and exhibition schedule with trips to Belgium and Spain before heading to France.
The women’s basketball tournament will be held from July 27 to August 11. Canada’s first game of the tournament is scheduled for July 29 at 8:15 a.m. against host France.
“I am very excited for the upcoming competition this summer and once again blessed with the opportunity to wear Canada across my chest because there truly is no feeling like it,” Ejim added.
