LOGRONO (2016 Rio Olympics) - Senegal shooting guard Oumoul Thiam has accomplished remarkable feats in recent years, but playing at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics could be the pinnacle of her basketball career.

After helping the Southern Nazarene University (SNU) claim the title of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) in 2013, Thiam helped her country finish third at that year's AfroBasket Women. She played a key role in Senegal's title run at last year's continental championship, which ensured their ticket for the Olympics (6-20 August).

This season, however, the left-handed three-point specialist is on a double mission. She is looking to help Logrono-based Campus Promete avoid relegation in Spain's Liga Femenina while also eyeing a spot on the African champions' final roster for the Olympics.

Senegal's Basketball Federation is yet to announce the team’s coaching staff, but until then, Thiam hopes to see her name in the preliminary squad.

"It is very exciting to think about and to know that I have the opportunity to participate in something as big as the Olympic Games," the 1.80m guard, who turned 26 on Wednesday, told FIBA.com. "Right now I am working with and for my club, but knowing that the Olympics are around the corner definitely makes me go harder everyday and give everything I have each night I step on the court.

Participating in the Olympic Games has definitely been a dream for me, as it has for every athlete I would say. I get excited every time I think about the opportunity of getting to participate in them. - Thiam

"I start imagining how it would be based on what I've seen on TV. Getting to experience that with athletes all around the world and with my teammates, while representing my country and putting the Senegalese flag out there once more for the world to see, would definitely be a dream come true. I am excited for the Olympics and so is my whole Senegal."

Thiam was only 10 years old when Senegal last participated in the Olympics, in 2000. But since she made her international debut with her country three years ago, her life has changed.

The Saint-Louis native keeps treasuring her time with the Western African team.

Those two medals [AfroBaskets 2013 and 2015] were definitely some of the biggest accomplishments of my basketball career and they are very special to me because I won them playing for my country. - Thiam

"In 2013, we got the bronze medal, but this past summer [AfroBasket 2015] we took home the gold, which my country has been chasing to get back since 2009. It definitely empowers me, I've grown a lot as a player with those two competitions and they have allowed me to reach another step in my growth process.”

Thiam is averaging 8.5 points per game in Spain's women's top flight and shooting 40 percent from three-point range. 

Although she graduated with a diploma in Business Administration and Accounting from SNU, one of her biggest tests yet could be clinching a spot in Senegal's final roster for the Rio de Games.

FIBA