Less than a year after helping lead Duke to the College Cup final, Rebecca Quinn will be playing on an even bigger stage in Rio de Janeiro.
The star midfielder was one of 18 players selected to Canada’s Olympic team Friday morning, becoming the second Duke women’s soccer player ever to play in the Olympics after Rebecca Smith represented New Zealand in 2008 and 2012. Quinn took the spring semester off from school to train for the Olympics after a third-team All-ACC campaign as a junior in 2015.
Canada was one of 12 countries to qualify for the tournament, which will take place from August 3-20. Canada captured the bronze medal in London in 2012 and is currently ranked No. 10 in the world. Its group in Rio de Janeiro includes No. 2 Germany, No. 5 Australia and No. 95 Zimbabwe, with the top two teams in all three groups after round robin play and the two best third-place teams qualifying for the quarterfinals.
Quinn is just 20 years old, but has already gotten plenty of international experience.
The Toronto native competed in the 2015 Pan American Games, 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship and the 2016 Algarve Cup—which Canada won. She also played in the U-17 Women’s World Cup in 2012, but was left off Canada’s World Cup roster in 2015 after taking the spring semester off to prepare for that event.
Quinn started 20 games for the Blue Devils last year, helping them shut out 14 opponents and notching a key goal to tie a Sweet 16 game against Florida during their NCAA tournament run.
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