Caitlin Clark dazzles in first game from extended Olympic break | Fox News

Not too many fans will argue with the notion that Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark was the biggest snub for the Team USA contingent for the 2024 Olympics.

Nevertheless, the national team still dominated the competition en route to another gold-medal finish — an eighth consecutive one for Team USA — so it is clear that they didn’t really need Clark’s services anyway.

Either way, Clark made good use of the league’s month-long hiatus during the Paris Games. On Friday, following the Fever’s 98-89 victory over the Phoenix Mercury, the 22-year-old revealed that she hit the gym hard during the break.

“I’m small but I try to hold my own the best I can,” Clark told reporters after Indiana’s win (h/t Andrew Cane of the New York Post). “… I don’t know, I think I’m discreetly strong. I’m never gonna be the strongest person. I know that.

“I try to put on some weight and I’ve been working hard in the weight room. Obviously there’s some limits to that and what I can do, obviously being in the season, but over the course of the last three weeks or so we’ve all been going pretty hard in the weight room.”

Caitlin Clark

Team WNBA guard Caitlin Clark (22) smiles on the court during the WNBA All-Star Game.

Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Clark has been the target of some physical play from her opponents since she arrived in the league, but it has done little to intimidate the former Iowa superstar. In fact, Clark has taken all this to heart, and she’s responded by doing what she can to bulk up.

There’s just no way Clark is backing down from anyone, and she wants the rest of the WNBA to know it.

“I think it’s definitely gonna help me down the stretch to have that extra little muscle,” Clark said Friday. “… It’s definitely something I’ll continue to focus on, but more than anything I never want to lose my speed. I like being fast and sprinting.”

As it is, Clark is already an absolute force to be reckoned with. By putting on a few pounds of pure muscle, stopping her will pose an even bigger challenge for whoever stands in her way.