With daughter Poppy by her side, Canada's Crozon chases Olympic basketball dream

Paige and Poppy Crozon walk into a dinner room in Bordeaux, France, over 7,000 kilometres from home in Lethbridge, Alta.

Inside are basketball players who have watched Poppy, 4, traverse the world with her mom as she attempts to help Canada earn a spot in women's 3x3 at the Paris Olympics.

"Such a warm welcome from the other teams because they're like, 'Oh, Poppy! We knew you since you were a baby in 2019.' And she of course is so overwhelmed, but it brought goosebumps to me as well, because … they only see her a couple of times every year, so then they really notice the growth. So that was a really proud moment for me," Paige Crozon recalled to CBC Sports recently.

Crozon, 28, is raising Poppy as a single mom while also managing the Living Skies Indigenous Basketball League, serving as an assistant coach on the University of Lethbridge's women's basketball team and of, course, pursuing an Olympic dream.

Originally from Humboldt, Sask., Crozon has played on Canada's 3x3 team since 2019 alongside Kacie Bosch and Katherine and Michelle Plouffe. She's also the only player who's showed up at every single stop for Canada on both the 2022 and 2023 Women's Series tours, including earlier in July in Bordeaux.

Crozon was there for the heartbreak of the Tokyo Olympics, when a quirky rule prevented Canada's women's team from even attempting to qualify. The men's team instead received that opportunity but did not advance to Tokyo.

The core four returns to the court Saturday for the Women's Series stop in Edmonton, the first of three Canadian events this season. Live coverage begins at noon ET on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.

"I started playing [3x3] when Poppy was eight months old and I'm very fortunate to have her