Olympics-bound Rose Lavelle is 'ready to play' in Tokyo despite injury scare at USWNT Summer Series
- Rose Lavelle has been named to the 18-player US Women's National Team Olympics roster.
- The star midfielder told Insider she's "ready to play" at the games despite a recent ankle scare.
- Lavelle said her new partnership with Icy Hot has already "come in handy" as she prepares for Tokyo.
Rose Lavelle is ready to go for Tokyo.
The star midfielder - who burst onto the scene with her stunning goal in the 2019 World Cup final - was named to the US Women's National Team's 18-player roster for this summer's Olympics. And despite rolling her ankle and pulling herself out of a game during the Summer Series earlier in June, the 26-year-old insists that she's "doing good."
"For once in my life, I decided to be smart and say don't risk it - so my ankle's fine," Lavelle told Insider. "Long-term it's good. I just was being safe and cautious and didn't want to like risk anything."
"We have a lot of big things ahead," she added.
That's an understatement. Now that she's made the roster - a notoriously difficult feat given the reduced number of spots compared to the World Cup - Lavelle will have roughly one week with her National Women's Soccer League club before heading to Connecticut for the USWNT's two-game Send-Off Series in early July.
Then, the squad will set off halfway across the world for a chance to make history as the first team to earn gold directly after winning the World Cup. But first, Lavelle and company will have to play three group-stage games in a seven-day span just to qualify for the knockout stage.
"You have to be fit and healthy and ready to go because of the quick turnaround," Lavelle said. "Especially in the heat in Tokyo, it's going to be very demanding physically."
Fortunately for Lavelle, her most recent partnership offers the perfect solution. She's teamed up with Icy Hot to become the company's first female brand ambassador, joining NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal as a leading face for the pain-management brand.
Lavelle is already reaping the benefits of the partnership. In addition to "using [Icy Hot] my whole life," Lavelle said that she was using the brand's contrast therapy - "cooling it off and then heating it up" - on her ailing ankle as we spoke.
"I've got some Icy Hot on it right now," she said. "Honestly it's something that I will apply before practice or before a game. I don't know if you've ever used it, but it just feels so good. First it's ice and it dulls the pain a little, and then it's the heat part to get you ready to play. I mean, that's how I've been using it my whole life and I'll continue to use it that way."
"It's great for my pain management," Lavelle added. "And I think it'll really come in handy for the Olympics."