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Carleton's dream comes true with trip to Tokyo Olympics

Bridget Carleton of Chatham has been named to Canada's women's basketball team for the Tokyo Olympics.

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Back in 2016, Bridget Carleton travelled to Europe with Canada’s national women’s basketball team as it prepared for the Rio Olympics.

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Several veterans had yet to join the squad, so the then-teenager from Chatham knew she wasn’t going to make the final cut.

“This trip is just a huge learning experience for me to prepare for the future,” she said at the time.

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Well, the future has arrived.

Carleton, 24, was named to Team Canada for the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday.

“I am so honoured to be representing Canada and going to my first Olympic Games,” she said to the Daily News. “It’s been a dream of mine to be an Olympian ever since I can remember, so it’s pretty surreal that it’s actually happening. I couldn’t be more excited!”

The six-foot-one forward has been playing for Canada since 2013 when she captained the national cadette team to silver medals at the FIBA Americas under-16 championship.

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She also captained the national junior team before moving up to the senior team.

The former All-American from Iowa State is now in her third WNBA season with the Minnesota Lynx. She has also played professionally in Australia and France.

Chatham-born forward Miranda Ayim of London was named to the Olympic team for the third time.

Natalie Achonwa, who plays with Carleton on the Lynx, and Kim Gaucher are also three-time Olympians.

“We’ve selected a team that is dynamic, relentless and together,” head coach Lisa Thomaidis said in a statement. “We have an exciting mix of youth and experience – a trio of three-time Olympians, along with six Olympic rookies. Half the team has represented Canada at previous Olympics, and we’ll be leaning on our collective experience to navigate our Tokyo journey.”

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Canada is a program-high fourth in the FIBA world rankings and is going to its third consecutive Olympics.

Canada qualified for Tokyo after going unbeaten at a FIBA qualifying tournament in Ostend, Belgium, in February 2020.

“With the pandemic, the last year and a half has felt like forever, so I can’t wait to join the team in Tokyo and put back on a Canada jersey,” Achonwa said in a statement. “I can’t believe that I will be going to my third Olympic Games this summer.

“We’re focused on bringing a medal back to Canada and they say, ‘Third time’s the charm,’ so hopefully this is the summer our dreams come to fruition.”

The team, minus its WNBA players, is now training in Tampa, Fla., and will travel to Kariya City, Japan, for a final pre-Olympic camp.

Team Canada opens the Olympics against Serbia on July 26 and then plays South Korea on July 29 and Spain on Aug. 1. The quarter-finals will be on Aug. 4, the semifinals on Aug. 6 and the medal games on Aug. 8.

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