At 39, Carli Lloyd Will Be The Oldest U.S. Women's Team Player To Go To The Olympics

It's very hard for a team to win either a World Cup, soccer's crown jewel, or an Olympic gold medal. To win those championships back-to-back is "incredibly challenging," says Carli Lloyd, who will nevertheless try to pull off that feat this summer, along with the U.S. Women's national team.

Lloyd, the superstar who is now going to her fourth Olympics, is aiming to bring home the gold. When she embarks on that quest in Tokyo, she'll be 39 — the oldest player the U.S. women's national team has ever sent to the Olympics.

Only a select few teams have been able to hold both the World Cup and Olympic titles at once. Uruguay's men's team won the tournaments in 1928 and '30, for instance. Italy has also pulled off the feat. And the U.S. women, led by Mia Hamm, won gold at the 1996 Olympics before winning the women's World Cup in 1999.

Written by: Bill Chappell

https://www.npr.org/2021/06/24/1009991403/carli-lloyd-soccer-olympics-oldest-womens-team-player