PARIS, France — While at Cashmere High School, Hailey Van Lith developed into one of the top high school basketball recruits in the country.
In college, Van Lith first led the University of Louisville to the NCAA Final Four in her sophomore season. Earlier this year, Van Lith was back in the Final Four with Angel Reese and Louisiana State University. Now, Van Lith is a first-time Olympian with the Team USA 3x3 basketball squad in Paris.
"Representing (the) USA is so special," Van Lith told KING 5's Chris Egan. "Just because of what Team USA means. What our country means in general and usually in the sports world, every team we play, they want to be us, they want to be USA. They want the opportunities we get. We're so fortunate to be able to, as women in sport, to be able to play freely and invest time into it and not be discriminated against because we're women trying to play sports."
It wasn't always smooth sailing on Van Lith's journey to the greatest global stage of sports. In elementary school, Van Lith traveled multiple times a week from her home in Wenatchee all the way to Puyallup to play for a select team. For over a decade, she spent 6-7 nights a week training in the gym with her father, Corey.
"It's crazy because in hindsight, my dad built me to be the perfect three-on-three player," Van Lith said. "That's what I hear all the time from people that know three on three… the grittiness, the toughness, the physicality, just the edge to want to win. Those are all things that he taught me and, you know, he really prepared me for this moment."
While it is Van Lith's first foray into Olympic competition, she is not new to wearing a Team USA jersey. Van Lith has five gold medals under her belt from various international events.
"Honestly, it never gets old and people always say like, that's the best moment is wearing the gold around your neck and they play the Star Spangled Banner and you just sing it and it means so much more. It makes everything in life mean more and it never gets old. It feels the same. It feels almost better each time. So it's definitely undescribable," Van Lith said.
Winning an Olympic gold medal would be the ultimate prize for not just Van Lith, but everyone else that helped her get to this level.
"When I stand on that podium. I'm really standing on the shoulders of my parents and - and Traci Barrett and Aaron Branham and all the people in my life who started me out as eight-year-old Hailey who wanted to play up in second grade with the third graders and all that stuff. So it's - it's really just a tribute to me, but also the community," Van Lith told Egan.