Resilience is one of Canadian women's soccer team's greatest assets as it looks to defend Olympic gold

One of Canada's greatest accomplishments in soccer was the women's team standing atop the podium in Tokyo at the Olympics in 2021.

I won't forget that entire final — not only because I woke up before dawn to watch it, but because it was one of the most gripping matches I have ever watched. Like many Canadians, I was on the sofa, my emotions oscillating between stress and hope and then jubilation. 

After covering the team for the last few years, from this triumph through last year's World Cup and what was arguably one of the worst years for them, on the pitch and off, the magnitude of what will be the Paris Olympics should not be lost on anyone.

We've seen the retirement of some of the most storied players of the program in Christine Sinclair and Sophie Schmidt, but we have also seen the emergence of incredible talent. Cloé Lacasse, Marie-Yasmine Alidou and Olivia Smith are flourishing overseas. Lacasse and goalkeeper Sabrina D'Angelo just celebrated winning the FA Women's Super League Cup with Arsenal.