Julie Ertz Opens up About Being 'Extremely Motivated' to Succeed in 2021 Tokyo Olympics (Exclusive)

Julie Ertz has made the United States women's soccer team for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and will be competing in the Olympic games for the second time in her career. And with the team winning the World Cup in 2019, Ertz is confident they can come away with gold medals in Tokyo by this time next month. PopCulture.com recently caught up with Ertz, who talked about how she and her teammates are "extremely motivated" to do big things in the Olympics.

"We've got an extra year with our coach," Ertz said. That's an extra year to get together and push each other. I think, individually, we've all continued to grow. That has helped the collective as well to continue to play good soccer and keep pushing, kind of, our boundaries as well. I think the excitement is definitely there. Being in a camp right now with the girls, it's a good energy. We're talking about send-off games and Olympic games, so I think being able to use that terminology, you just kind of brings excitement around to everyone."

In the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the USWNT finished in 5th place, losing to Sweeden in the quarterfinals. It was a disappointing and surprising end considering the squad won gold medals four of the last five Olympics. However, the team comes into this year's Olympics with a lot of momentum, winning the 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying tournament and the 2020 SheBelieves Cup.

With the success Ertz had in her career, she will be relied on to perform well in Tokyo. But the question is will she be 100% healthy after suffering an MCL injury in May? "I've had incredible support, not just from my teammates, but from the staff," Ertz said. "We've been focusing on everything that I could help to get back faster between nutrition, what I'm eating, my sleep, with Sleep Number, with their 360 smart bed features and SleepIQ technology", to heat acclimatization, to training and running and everything. So I'm in a really good spot. I feel good, and I'm really excited, but I just feel like I couldn't say thank you enough for all the support from everyone and the words of encouragement to get back. It was a grind, but I feel good. And I'll be ready to go.

Ertz also talked about how much Sleep Number has helped her in rest and recovery. "As an athlete and my husband being an athlete, you try to find whatever you can to get the best of whatever you can to prepare off the field and on the field as well," she stated. "So Sleep Number was great. They were great to work with as well to find the best sleep that I could get, and they have been there through and through as well."