How many games has USA’s women’s basketball team gone without losing in the Olympic Games?

Team USA’s women’s basketball team begins their quest for an unprecedented 10th gold medal today in Paris. They will take on Japan in the first of three group stage games with the priority centered on opening the tournament with a win today, but the ultimate goal is to be kissing Olympic gold for the eighth straight time.

A history of dominance

For the last 40 years, USA’s women’s basketball has set the benchmark in the Olympics and on the international basketball scene. Legends like Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoops have laid the foundation for one of the most dominant teams in the history of any competitions in the Olympics.

In the 11 previous Olympics Team USA has competed in they have won gold in 9. In the two years they failed to win gold they still made the podium, winning silver in their inaugural tournament in 1976 and bronze in 1992 when the Americans lost to something called the Unified Team in the semifinal of the Barcelona Olympics.

The Unified Team consisted of a group of players from the successor countries following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. There were 12 of the 15 Soviet republic’s that made up the Unified Team as each independent country had yet to form their individual Olympic federations. That team would go on to win gold in women’s basketball and top Team USA in both gold medals (45 to 37) and in total medals (112 to 108).

Record setting roll

Since that loss in the semifinals of Barcelona Olympics, Team USA’s women haven’t tasted defeat in the summer games. They went go on to beat Cuba in the 1992 bronze medal match, and then took gold in Atlanta in 1996, winning all eight games. Dating back to their match up with Cuba in 1992 they have been on a winning streak that is unlike anything we have seen in the women’s game.

It’s been 32 years since their last loss, and Team USA women’s basketball has won seven straight gold medals since then. The red, white and blue comes into the Paris Olympics riding a 55 game win streak, which is only superseded by the USA men’s basketball team who won 63 straight games from 1936 to 1972. The mens team won seven straight gold medals and had 55 game win streak going into the Berlin Olympics and won their first eight games before losing in the gold medal match against the Soviet Union.

This year, a group of veterans led by Diana Taurasi, Kelsey Plum and Brittany Griner look to bring Team USA it’s eighth straight gold medal. They may have just lost to the WNBA All-Stars in an unofficial exhibition, but they come in as the overwhelming favorites, with Canada and Australia the teams most likely to dethrone them in Paris. They tip off their first game of group stages today at 3:00 p.m. ET against Japan.