From 1976 to 2012: A brief look at women’s basketball at the Olympics

Smith College physical education director Senda Berenson taught basketball to students in the winter of 1892. The college held its first women’s college basketball championship game on March 22, 1893 and 84 years later females competed in the sport in the Olympics. Basketball for men in the competition began in 1936.

In the short history of women’s basketball in the Olympics only three teams have won the gold medal. The Soviet Union took the first top medal in 1976 and again in 1980. The United States won in 1984, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008. The Unified Team, a mix of twelve former Soviet republics, won the gold in 1992.

Australia won the silver in the last three competitions and the bronze in 1996. Other teams that earned medals in the Olympics include Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Korea, China, Brazil and post-Soviet Russia.

The U.S., along with 65 other nations, boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics. The Soviet Union and Hungary boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Previous medalists

Year	Host	Gold medal game			Bronze medal game
		Gold	Score	Silver	Bronze	Score	4th place
1976	Montreal	Soviet Union	No playoffs	USA	Bulgaria	No playoffs	Poland
1980	Moscow	Soviet Union	104–73	Bulgaria	Yugoslavia	68–65	Hungary
1984	Los Angeles	USA	85–55	Korea	China	63–57	Canada
1988	Seoul	USA	77–70	Yugoslavia	Soviet Union	68–53	Australia
1992	Barcelona	Unified Team	76–66	China	USA	88–74	Cuba
1996	Atlanta	USA	111–87	Brazil	Australia	66–56	Ukraine
2000	Sydney	USA	76–54	Australia	Brazil	84–73	Korea
2004	Athens	USA	74–63	Australia	Russia	71–62	Brazil
2008	Beijing	USA	92–65	Australia	Russia	94–81	China
2012	London

*In 1976 the competition consisted of a single round-robin group where final standings were determined by the group’s rankings.