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Olympic Games
Seimone Augustus (top) and Sylvia Fowles (bottom) are the only athletes in LSU history with three Olympic gold medals.
2008 • 2012 • 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES
How many athletes get to live out their childhood dreams of winning Olympic gold? How many have that opportunity three times? Count LSU’s Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles in that elite group. The duo became the first Olympic gold medalists in the history of LSU women’s basketball in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Over the next eight years, Augustus and Fowles added to their collection, earning gold in 2012 in London and again in 2016 in Rio. USA Basketball continued its dominance in 2016, claiming its sixth-straight Olympic gold medal and extending its winning streak to 49 games.
Augustus and Fowles became the first LSU athletes - past or present - in any sport to claim multiple Olympic gold medals as the U.S. Women’s National team put a punctuation mark on its perfect 2012 London run with an 86-50 victory over France in the gold medal contest. From coach Sue Gunter’s silver medal at the 1976 Games to coach Van Chancellor’s gold medal at the 2004 Games, LSU women’s basketball has been associated with eight Olympic medals.
In addition to Augustus and Fowles, there are only 10 other women’s basketball players who have accomplished the feat of being named to three or more U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Teams. LSU and UConn are the only two collegiate women’s basketball programs to boast multiple players with three or more Olympic gold medals.
2008 BEIJING OLYMPIC RESULTS
Czech Republic W 97-57 China W 108-63 Mali W 97-41 Spain W 93-55 New Zealand W 96-60 South Korea (Quarterfinal) W 104-60 Russia (Semifinal) W 67-52 Australia (Gold Medal Game) W 92-65
2012 LONDON OLYMPIC RESULTS
Croatia W 81-56 Angola W 90-38 Turkey W 89-58 Czech Republic W 88-61 China W 114-66 Canada (Quarterfinal) W 91-48 Australia (Semifinal) W 86-73 France (Gold Medal Game) W 86-50
2016 RIO OLYMPIC RESULTS
Senegal W 121-56 Spain W 103-63 Serbia W 110-84 Canada W 81-51 China W 105-62 Japan (Quarterfinal) W 110-64 France (Semifinal) W 86-67 Spain (Gold Medal Game) W 101-72
Team USA celebrates atop the medal stand following its win over Australia in the 2008 gold medal game. Sylvia Fowles (third from left) and Seimone Augustus (second from right) combined for 17 points in the final game.
“I had to hold tears back. Rethinking the last two or three years for myself and being back and winning a gold medal, honestly, I had this as my screen saver a year ago before they even announced the team. So, it’s a dream come true.” - Seimone Augustus; Aug. 11, 2012
USA Basketball’s run through the Rio Olympics concluded less than a week following one of the worst flood events that struck Baton Rouge and the surrounding area. More than 20,000 people were reportedly rescued and upwards of 40,000 homes had flooded. Seimone Augustus, a Baton Rouge native, had an emotional press conference following the 2016 Gold Medal Game where she expressed joy in being able to make her friends, family and everyone affected by the devastating August flooding proud. She closed the press conference with, “Baton Rouge, this is for you.” “The experience was awesome, and it was more than I could have ever imagined. When you represent your country at the highest level with USA across your jersey, it is an honor.” - Sylvia Fowles; Aug. 23, 2008
