For the first time in history, both the men’s and women’s basketball Olympic gold medal games will see the same two teams face off. France has taken full advantage of the home support while Team USA steamrolled its way to the Final. With talents such as Gabby Williams, Valeriane Ayayi, and Marine Johannes, the hosts have what it takes to challenge Team USA’s 3-decade supremacy. But let’s not forget the wealth of experience carried by the team’s veteran shooting guard Sarah Michel.

Participating in her final Olympics, the 35-year-old has been a backbone of French contention in major tournaments. Now, as she approaches the twilight of her career, a gold medal podium will be a sweet retirement gift for the 5 ft 11 in star. But before that, let’s take a glance at how her career unfolded.

The Basketball Story of Sarah Michel

Born in Ris-Orangis, France, Michel got her first piece of international action in 2007 at the Division A- U18 European Women’s Championship. Here she participated in a total of 8 games, producing an average of 8.4 points per contest while grabbing 2.9 boards. This made a compelling case for her to feature in the subsequent year’s U20 European Women’s Championship. A somewhat similar exhibition was on display. She ended her 8-game campaign by contributing 7.5 points while carrying an Individual Player Efficiency of 6.

After that, she had to wait a long time to get a call from the senior squad. Despite making it through the first training camp in Alpe-d’Huez for the 2014 FIBA World Cup, Michel got her first selection when she was 26 years old. The occasion was a friendly encounter with Great Britain in Roanne in May. Following this, her first taste of success came at the 2015 Women’s EuroBasket. As it turns out, France won the silver medal in Hungary.

She paired a 9.3 PPG with an Individual Player Efficiency of 14 in the FIBA Women’s Qualifying Tournament to book her ticket to the Rio Olympics. She participated in all 8 games. Sadly, the French missed out on a medal and finished 4th courtesy of their loss against Serbia. After this, for the second consecutive time, France got their hands on the silver medal in the EuroBasket tournament held in the Czech Republic. Michel in her 6 games could pull off only 4.2 points per contest.

But she kept on going and played a vital hand in all international events for the Les Bleues. As a result, that confirmed her place in the final roster for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. An Individual Player Efficiency of 5.8 played its part in France making it to the semi-final stage that year. Unfortunately, they couldn’t cope with the momentum of the hosts. Eventually, France missed out on a second silver at the event. Still, her experience came in handy and France was able to get their Rio revenge from Serbia and secure a bronze.

As France won the hosting privileges for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Sarah Michel became adamant about making it to the Olympic roster and hanging her basketball boots on home turf.

Michel’s build-up to the Paris Olympics

France co-hosted the 2021 edition of the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket. Once again, Sarah Michel led the French ladies all the way to the Finals. Unfortunately, it was Serbia this time who got the better of their rivals. Michel had to contend for the silver medal for the 4th time in her career.

Following this, she gave her best international performance in the 2023 FIBA Women’s EuroBasket Qualifiers. In the 5 games, Michel produced an average of 7.6 points while her Individual Player Efficiency notched up to 12.2. Consequently, the French Basketball Federation was convinced that Sarah Michel qualified herself to captain the Les Bleues in their home Olympics.

And that decision turned out so well. For the second time in their illustrious history, France will contest for the gold medal. So far in the tournament, Michel is shooting 23.5% from the field while maintaining a decent accuracy of 30.0% from beyond the arc. A total of 15 points along with 12 rebounds and 7 assists sums up her Olympics so far. By all accounts, Sunday’s encounter will be her 145th and final national appearance.

Hardly anyone would deny that Sarah Michel has been a tremendous ambassador for French women’s basketball. Her aptitude and IQ for the game will be a vital aspect if the Les Bleues want to bring home their first gold. Can Sarah Michel help the hosts avenge their 2012 loss? We’ll have to wait and see.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show”. Our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.