PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Thorns will be well represented on the U.S. Women's National Team at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Four Thorns players — midfielder Lindsay Horan, defenders Becky Sauerbrunn and Crystal Dunn and goalkeeper Adrianna Franch — will go for the gold in Tokyo.
Sauerbrunn, a three-time Olympian and team captain, said the biggest challenge is playing free despite the pressure and expectations of playing for the world's top-ranked team.
"The hardest thing to do, but the most important is to try to play free," she said. "I think it can feel like there's a bit of a burden, just with the pressure of being on this team and then the expectations that we hold for ourselves."
Team USA has won gold four times at the games and enter the Olympics as the No. 1 ranked team in the world. This year, the team will have to deal with playing in a bubble.
"We're lucky that games are going on and that we get to go compete for an Olympic gold medal," Horan said.
The U.S. Women’s National Team opens pool play on July 21 against Sweden.
Find a full list of all the local Oregon and Southwest Washington athletes competing in Tokyo here.