Lauren Jackson is set to emerge from retirement and feature at the Paris Olympics after Basketball Australia answered a family request and named the Opals legend in a 26-player squad.
The 42-year-old will all but certainly make her fourth Olympic appearance, and her first since London 2012, after Basketball Australia agreed to provide financial and practical support for her two sons in Europe.
Jackson retired from international basketball for a third time after helping Australia qualify for the Paris Games in Brazil in March. She revealed after the qualifying series that leaving her two sons at home when she flew to Brazil had left her struggling enormously.
But Jackson and Basketball Australia agreed on an assistance package, resulting in the veteran being named as a member of coach Sandy Brondello’s squad for the Paris Games, beginning with the opening ceremony on July 26.
“I have said to them I can’t even consider it [Paris] unless I have support for my kids. I can’t do it without them, and I am a single mum. It’s too hard for me to leave them with my parents all the time. And I can’t do it, either.”
