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Like many Americans, WNBA superstar Breanna Stewart was watching the 2026 Milan Cortina Games from home, hoping that every time she watched athletes compete in any sport, a member of Team USA would stand on the podium at the end.
Team USA racked up a record 12 gold medals at the Winter Olympics, and as a three-time winner of women’s basketball at the Summer Games, Stewart couldn’t help but think about what awaited her in two years in Los Angeles.
“I’m talking about LA28 a little bit more these days. I think it’s going to be crazy,” Stewart told PK Press Club Digital while discussing her partnership with Throne Sport Coffee as the first female athlete to join the brand.
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Breanna Stewart of Team USA celebrates with her child during the women’s basketball medal ceremony on the sixteenth day of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Bercy Arena on August 11, 2024 in Paris, France. (Elsa/Getty Images)
Whether it was 20-year-old Alysa Liu smiling after a fantastic gold medal performance in figure skating, or the men’s and women’s hockey teams beating Canada in overtime to secure victory in Milan, Stewart knew exactly how they felt with that medal around their neck and watching the American flag rise to the rafters.
It’s a feeling Stewart still gets goosebumps thinking about.
“When you’re on the podium, you see the flag going up and the national anthem playing with the gold medal around your neck, it’s really just a satisfaction and a vindication of why you’re doing it and why you’ve gone through these times and tough times,” she explained. “For me, the Olympics is the highest level. You play your sport at the highest level against everyone else in the world, and you see it. It’s just a goosebumps feeling no matter how many times you do it. Just the pride and knowing that you represent something bigger than yourself always comes full circle.”
While American pride is on display, many at home are also learning more about sports they rarely get the chance to watch before the Games. Stewart felt the same way.
“I think there are so many events that I’ve really learned a lot about, whether it’s bobsleigh or curling or hockey,” she said. “I just wanted to cheer on the United States in whatever event they competed in, and see the pride and passion the athletes felt every time they competed in their sport.
“The Olympics are special every time I’m in it, and I know it’s the same for all these athletes. I thought it was a really cool moment for everyone and, I mean, women’s hockey, what an incredible ending. Men’s hockey is the same. Look, I would never want to have my teeth knocked out by a hockey stick, I can tell you that.”
Gold medalist Alysa Liu of Team USA poses for a photo during the women’s individual skating medal ceremony on the thirteenth day of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Milan Ice Rink on February 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
JILLIAN MICHAELS: OUR HOCKEY HEROES JUST GIVE AMERICA THE MIRACLE WE NEED MOST
Stewart is talking, of course, about the blow Jack Hughes took from an errant Canadian stick, which chipped his front teeth. But he was the hero of men’s hockey, scoring the overtime goal and wearing the American flag around his back, bloody mouth and all, as he smiled in celebration on the ice in Milan.
Megan Keller was also a hero for the United States, making a clever fake on a Canadian defender and firing a backhand shot into the net to send the American bench into a frenzy after her overtime goal sealed gold just days before the men accomplished the same feat.
Two years later, Stewart is hoping to win her fourth Olympic gold medal, especially since it will be the first time she stays home in the United States to compete against the world’s best.
“Even in two years, the fact that we’ll finally be in our home country, I feel like, especially talking about the women’s national basketball team, we’re still playing against other people in their home country, and we’re still at odds,” she said. “Having this audience behind us is going to be something people haven’t felt in a long, long time and I’m excited to say I’ll feel that too.”
A BOOST FOR HEALTH WITH THRONE SPORT COFFEE
Between her hard work on the court as a WNBA superstar and her duties as a stay-at-home mom, Stewart needs caffeine throughout the day to keep going.
Breanna Stewart of Team USA hugs assistant coach Kara Lawson of Team USA and celebrates after her team’s victory against Team France during the women’s gold medal match between Team France and Team USA on day sixteen of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Bercy Arena on August 11, 2024 in Paris, France. (Grégory Shamus/Getty Images)
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But Stewart doesn’t just drink coffee to get her fix: she’s partnered with a brand that’s perfect for the professional athlete she is.
Stewart has joined Throne SPORT COFFEE, becoming the first female athlete to partner with the brand which prides itself on being much more than just a coffee purveyor.
It feels really natural and fitting to me,” she told FOX Business in an exclusive interview about the partnership. “I think being an athlete, being a mom, there are so many reasons why we constantly need caffeine. But to have it in a healthy way, and also to have protein, every time I walk into the gym I take one. I let everyone know that not only do I drink coffee, but I also get very positive protein benefits. »
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