The United States women's national basketball team is on the cusp of winning its sixth-straight gold medal in the Summer Olympics and eighth overall Saturday when the Americans play Spain in Rio de Janeiro. The first gold medal the Americans won was in 1984 at the Games of the XXIII Olympiad in Los Angeles, and former Redbird women's basketball great and current assistant coach Cathy Boswell (Class of 1983, Percy Family Hall of Fame Class of 1997) was a member of the first gold medal-winning team in 1984.
Boswell's path to the Olympics actually started in 1980 when she was invited to the Olympic tryout because of her participation with the Junior Olympics.
"I remember I was wearing glasses because I was too young to wear contacts at the time," Boswell said. "I knew I was really young because I was going up against a bunch of older players."
But Boswell did have more experience than others her age. Despite being only 17, she had already one year of college experience under her belt. Boswell almost made the final cut but finished just one short, as she made the final 17.
"Not making the team inspired me to keep working harder," Boswell said. "But I was happy for the team."
However, the United States did not compete in the 1980 Summer Olympics, which were held in Moscow. Led by the United States at the insistence of President Jimmy Carter, 65 countries boycotted the games because of the Soviet war in Afghanistan.
"I was sad that team was unable to compete because of the boycott," Boswell said.
Fast forward three years to 1983. Boswell was an alternate on the team who competed in the Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela, and that was scary for her because players from that team usually make the Olympic squad. Instead, Boswell played at the 1983 World University Games in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, under her college coach, Redbird coaching legend Jill Hutchison.
After winning gold at the University Games, Boswell moved to Germany to play professional basketball and gain important international experience at the age of 20.
"I did not know the language and had to use a translator when I communicated with my coach," Boswell said. "I finally felt comfortable midway through the season. After Christmas, I put together a personal workout plan if I was going to get serious about making the Olympic team. I would set small personal goals in order to break through the barrier.
"I started working on my shot more to be more effective on the outside and dropped some weight. I was not very tall, but I could always jump. I needed to adapt and get out of playing the three position all the time to me more multi-dimensional. My coach in Germany helped me at the guard position, and I would work on helping the guard see the floor better."
In the summer of 1984, Boswell lived with a friend in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the home of the United States Olympic Training Center, to workout. One hurdle Boswell was going to have to get over was her asthma problem, because of the high altitude creating a tougher environment to breathe.
"It took about a week and a half to get acclimated to the altitude," Boswell said. "Brisk walks, running and lifting weights is what I did, but I had headaches. My parents were very supportive of me living in Colorado Springs.
"When tryouts came, which were grueling, we practiced three times a day and had to be in great shape. Over 300 girls were at the start of tryouts because they were an open tryout. After the first day they cut the team down to 150, and next day down to 75."
Tryouts lasted two weeks. After the cuts were made to 17, which Boswell made in 1980, legendary women's basketball coaches Pat Summitt and Kay Yow, who were the coaches of the team, could not decide on the final two cuts. They let the team know and sent the players home for two weeks so they could organize a tournament with some international flavor.
Boswell stayed out in Colorado Springs with her friend instead of returning home.
"It was the most nerve-wracking two weeks," Boswell said. "I concentrated on my weaknesses. When the tournament came, I played pretty well. I shot well and helped out the guards getting trapped. I played good help-side defense and even brought the ball up the court."
Finally a decision had been made. The final 17 were to meet with the coaches alphabetically to learn the fate, and Boswell was the first one up.
"I remember going into a little office, and Coach Summitt is sitting there smiling and tells me to have a seat," Boswell said. "She asked me how I felt, and I said, I felt great. She told me I did an excellent job and noticed I put my work in and converted myself. Coach then told me she was excited for me, and I said I was excited, too. She finally told me congratulations, and I jumped out of my seat. Coach shook my hand, and I gave her a big hug. She told me to keep working hard and not to tell anybody, and I left her office through another door that led to the dorms."
Knowing she had to wait, Boswell immediately called her mom to tell her the great news and not to tell anybody.
"My mom told me she knew I would make it. After you could finally tell people, I called Charlotte Lewis. After I told her, she said, 'I knew it Bos. I knew you would. Now, you have to go get the gold.'"
Lewis, another Redbird legend, had the most influence on Boswell in her basketball career.
"I was always active in summer basketball camps," Boswell said. "I had been all around for basketball camps, and one year I was at Illinois State, and I got the chance to meet Charlotte. I was in eighth or ninth grade at the time, and she had a huge impact on me, a far as a player, in regards to what she had accomplished.
"She showed us her silver medal at camp and it was amazing. I touched it and my eyes lit up. I remember telling Charlotte, 'I want one of these.' Her response was, 'One day you are going to be an Olympian, but you are going to get gold.' That conversation just stuck with me."
All the motivation and hard work made Boswell's dream come true. She knew she had to focus to achieve this, and everything fell into place.
The team took a tour of the United States to play numerous exhibition games against former players an even men's teams.
"We played one game in Indianapolis in front of a record sold-out crowd against the women's select team. We also played against the Chinese men's select team and teams with aspiring NBA players. There were never any blowouts even though they were dunking on us. Coach Summitt told the teams to play for real, and this made us very well prepared."
The team was with the men's team on a lot of occasions. Michael Jordan was on that team and it was coached by legendary men's college basketball coach Bob Knight.
"We would be eating with Jordan, (Sam) Perkins and all of the other guys, and it was funny to see Coach Knight and Coach Summit together because those were to two most powerful coaches in their profession. It was a great experience."
When the team arrived in Los Angeles, Boswell and her teammates would see movie and television starts walking around the Olympic village.
"They would make comments to us saying they were here to watch us play and that we were the stars," Boswell said. "Being part of the opening ceremonies was awesome, and I have never missed watching one since.
It was an experience of a lifetime. I made a lot of friends. I was on a first-name basis with Carl Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Jackie Joyner, always saying hi to them when I saw them in the village. We went to go see as many events as possible, including swimming, gymnastics, men's hoops."
The village was on the campus of UCLA. Boswell said it really felt like an actual village. The security was great and is still rated one of the best ever.
The team worked hard in Los Angeles. Coach Summitt then told the team they had four days off and asked them where they wanted to go. They decided to go to Hawaii and chill out before competition.
"When it was time to play, we were scared to death because we knew we could not lose at home," Boswell said. "We ended up beating every team by at least 30 points. Everybody got to play. We shared the ball well, and the biggest thing was our defense because that is what Coach Summitt preached."
The United States went 6-0 in the Olympics and defeated South Korea, 85-55, to win the country's first gold medal in women's basketball. The Americans won their six contests by an average of 33.7 points.
There were no words to describe the feeling of winning gold, a dream she had instilled in her as a child. Boswell recently had her gold medal refurbished, which she keeps at home. When the Olympics were over, there were numerous celebrations, including one at Illinois State.
"I would go and speak at schools and let kids try it on," Boswell said. "That is what really drove me when I touched Charlotte's silver medal. That is what it is all about.
"My hometowns of Joliet and Shorewood and always been supportive. They had parades for me there, and I was even the grand marshal in my grandpa's hometown of Pontiac. There was a three-month period where the phone did not stop ringing. I responded to all of the fan mail I received with a thank you note, and I am thankful for my mom telling me to do that. You do not realize how many appreciate the things you do."
When Boswell received her gold medal the first though that came to her mind was 'Now what? What's next?'
"It was kind of a panic moment," Boswell said. "It popped into my mind that I wanted to keep playing professionally."
Boswell traveled back overseas to play professionally. She played in Germany, Spain, Greece and Brazil, before playing in the American Basketball League (ABL). She helped lead the Brazilian team to five national championships.
"In Brazil, I played against the best players in the world and the teams, and the country treated women's basketball like queens," Boswell said. "Every gym was packed. The women would play the second game of doubleheaders with the men. We had police escorts to and from games, and I thought 'It can't get any better than this.'"
After her playing career was over, Boswell went into coaching, and is now helping her alma mater shape into an up-and-coming program. She was quick to say her former coaches at Illinois State, Jill Hutchison and current softball head coach Melinda Fisher, played an important role in her life as role models and mentors throughout here college career. Boswell also gives a special thank you to Kathy Schneidwin, who was her athletic trainer at Illinois State. Schneidwin kept her healthy, and Boswell was able to use what she learned from her and apply them to her training in Germany.
"I am happy to be back at Redbird," Boswell said. "It has been quite a ride. One Olympics was enough. I have not been able to get back to see one in person, but that is on my bucket list. If I had not been lucky enough to coach at ISU, I would have gone this summer to Rio."
