Sparks center Lisa Leslie is making her fourth appearance in the Olympics for the United States. Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images

Winning an Olympic gold medal would be the crowing achievement of nearly any athlete's career. Lisa Leslie has three of them.

She's going for a fourth right now in Beijing, and she has already stated that this will be her final Olympic appearance. Now with her husband and one-year-old daughter Lauren in tow, the Sparks legend has extra motivation to lead the U.S. team to the top of the podium once again.

WNBA.com's Adam Hirshfield spoke with Leslie in Palo Alto, Calif., prior to the Games to discuss her hopes for the coming trip and her feeling on the escalating rivalry between the USA and Australia.

Q01. This is your last go-round in the Olympics. What is your mentality coming into these Games? How does your preparation differ this time around, especially with your husband and daughter in China with you? Is your role any different being an experienced veteran?

Leslie: "My role is still to be determined. The desire, the passion and the fight is pretty much the same. That'll never change. For me, this time is just about trying to contribute however this team needs me to. Experience and work ethic are things I can show to my teammates every day… and hopefully some of that can rub off on them. It's going to take a lot of that for us to win.

"Honestly, knowing where Lauren and my husband are is more of a comfort than anything. I think I'd be in much worse shape emotionally if they weren't there. I feel really confident about the way things are going. We're working on getting our routine down. I don't get to see her as much during the WNBA season because of all of our traveling and the grind of that. But it's OK. She has a lot of love and support."

Q02. What goes into the preparation for a tournament like this? What can you get out of a short pre-Olympic training camp?

Leslie: "Chemistry. The challenge of being down. We're also working on work ethic and fighting hard through whatever situation we're presented with. And working on these things brings us together and helps us to feel more comfortable relying on each other. All of this is good experience for us, even though it's a short period of time together."

Q03. You weren't a member of the World Championship team in Brazil in 2006, but is there any added motivation in Beijing knowing that the USA finished third the last time around?

Leslie: "I'm pretty sure there is, yes. Because we get asked that question a lot (laughs). It's tough for us to even have that one blemish on our record. But it's actually good for us in a way because we'll continue to use it as motivation. Maybe we're more hungry because of it. The last time we were out on the floor competing in a big game, we lost. And now that we're back competing on a big stage, that last loss is in the back of our minds."

Q04. Let's talk a bit about some of the rivalries with the other top teams that you might face in Beijing? You and Lauren Jackson have a rivalry that goes back a long way… Russia is traditionally pretty strong and has a couple of talented post players. Do you consider these teams to be your rivals, or are you more focused on just taking each game and each opponent as it comes?

Leslie: "With the USA, every time we step on the floor, it's about that game. We have so many rivalries, that it's really hard to keep up with which one is more important than another. We've beaten Brazil, we've beaten Australia, we've beaten China before… but the competition out there is getting better. We can't take any game or any opponent for granted."

Q05. Is there a player on this team who you're really looking forward to playing with? Maybe someone you haven't gotten a lot of experience playing with before?

Leslie: "Honestly, yeah, I like playing with Cappie. Her style, her game, her ability to create her own shots, her quickness… she's fun to watch. I have to be careful when I'm playing with her, because there are times I almost stop playing myself because I'm so fixed on watching her and what she's doing with the ball. She's a really exciting player and I'm looking forward to playing with her."

Q06. As one of the co-captains of this team, you obviously bring a lot of leadership to the table. But what else is Coach Donovan and the others looking for you to bring to this squad?

Leslie: "Definitely, leadership is a big part of it. Communication and being a major verbal leader are very important. I'm also partially responsible for making sure we have the swagger we should have, regardless of what happened in the World Championships. This is a different team and a different time."

Q07. If there's one thing you have to do as a team to ensure that you bring home gold, what do you think it is?

Leslie: "Win eight games, I guess (laughs). That's pretty much it. Defense, though, is big. We really need to hang our hats on defense and get after it. We need to be committed on that end."

Q08. So with this being your last Olympic experience, do you have a single overriding thought entering the Games in Beijing?

Leslie: "Four golds. I'm always focused on winning. I envision it. I picture us on the podium laughing and crying a little bit with those gold medals around our necks. That's all I see. That's all I know. That's all I want to know."