From far-off dream to reality: How Katie Vincent became an Olympic champion

Growing up, Katie Vincent dreamed of becoming an Olympic champion.

But for the best female canoeists, the Olympics were just that — a dream. Women trained just as hard as men to be the best at their sport, putting in just as many hours and making just as many sacrifices, but the pinnacle wasn't the same.

Until Tokyo 2020, only men got to compete in canoe events at the Olympics. That's when women's events were added, and the Olympic canoe/kayak program became gender equal.

Even without her sport on the Olympic program, Vincent chased her dream, believing somehow, some way, that she would get there. On Saturday, it came true.

With her win in the C-1 200 metres Vincent not only became an Olympic champion, but she wrote her name in the record book with a world-best time of 44.12 seconds. She bested a mark set in 2018 by her former Canadian teammate Laurence Vincent Lapointe, who Vincent teamed up with to win bronze in the doubles race in Tokyo.

Vincent also became the first Canadian women to win gold in canoe-kayak.

WATCH | Vincent makes Canadian history:

Inside her hotel room on Saturday morning, a day after winning a career-second Olympic C-2 500m bronze with new partner Sloan MacKenzie, Vincent knew she had a little more to give. While an Olympic bronze medal is a big achievement, Vincent decided two was enough.

"I woke up this morning and just wanted to do my best and put down something to be really proud of," she said.

The 28-year-old from Mississauga has raced in the C-1 200m her whole career.

But never has she gone as fast as she did on Saturday morning, coming up clutch on the biggest stage when it mattered the most. 

Vincent, who's always shined in the second half of races, dug her deepest in the final 50