Kayla Alexander will stand proud with her Canadian basketball teammates on Monday in Tokyo, a long and at times difficult journey to the Olympic Games finally complete. “I definitely had my doubts and moments where I was wondering, ‘OK, maybe I should just pivot on a different dream,’” Alexander said this month. Canada’s goals are clear: After losing in the Olympic quarterfinals in 2012 and 2016, they are chasing a podium finish — the first for a Canadian basketball team since the men finished second at the 1936 Berlin Games. For Alexander, seizing the moment after such a tough journey would be the culmination of an almost lifelong chase. “When I think back to the little 12-year-old girl who started playing basketball, like, this never crossed my mind,” she said.

Source: thestar July 24, 2021 20:26 UTC