Big Green to Paris: Isalys Quiñones '19 Th'20

"It's always an honor to represent my country but on the biggest stage of the world, it's just a little bit more special. For such a tiny island to have such a big name in sports always gives me such a proud feeling," Quiñones said. "The same goes for representing Dartmouth. There aren't many Ivy Leaguers that make it to the Olympics let alone those from Dartmouth, so I am truly honored to be able to represent such minority groups."

Quiñones had a successful four-year career as a member of the Big Green, cementing herself in the history books. Sitting in the top-20 all time with 512 career rebounds, posting the highest scoring average (14.0) during the 2018-19 season, the highest rebound average (6.5) in 2017-18, steals in 2016-17 (42), and blocks in back to back years, Quiñones took her success to the Puerto Rican National Team.

After departing Hanover, Quiñones planned to head to Greece to play professionally but the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the league, sending her back to Chula Vista, California. She contemplated what was next, following her basketball dreams or focusing on her passion for environmental engineering.

In 2020, she flew to Puerto Rico to try out for their national team and later qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. After leading team Puerto Rico with 4.7 rebounds per game in the delayed 2020 summer Olympics, she continued to play basketball professionally in France while working as an environmental engineer.

Two years later, Quiñones represented Puerto Rico again at the 2022 World Cup in Sydney, Australia. Despite finishing eighth overall, she was part of Puerto Rico's first two wins in Olympic or World Cup competition.

"I love playing basketball. That's what keeps me coming back. But it's always motivating to see myself progress with each practice, game, and season so that also keeps me coming back to the game," Quiñones said.

Now, Quiñones is set to compete in her second straight Olympics, this time in Paris, and while she is still competing on the biggest stage, these Olympics are a bit more special.

"Last Olympics was during COVID so there were no fans, we weren't allowed outside the village, and our families weren't able to come," Quiñones said. "But this time around, we'll be able to play in front of fans, we'll be able to explore France in the little off time that we have, and my family (along with my teammates families) will be cheering us on from the stands."

One of eight Big Green connections in this year's games, Quiñones and Team Puerto Rico will get underway on Sunday, July 28 playing their first game against Serbia.

"I would just like to say thank you to everyone supporting my journey. It takes a village to be able to get to this level and I wouldn't have been able to get here without all my support. Even features like this give me motivation to keep going when things get tough," she said. "Hopefully I can be an inspiration to fellow classmates who aspire to be Olympians as well."