Sask. woman secures a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics

A Humboldt woman has one goal in mind when she heads to Paris this summer — bring back Canada’s first Olympic gold medal in basketball.

Paige Crozon was elated when her 3x3 basketball team earned their way to the 2024 Olympics.

“I put the sacrifice and put so much on the line to try to get to that point, so it was a moment of just pure elation and relief,” she said.

Crozon said the team had their first chance to qualify in Japan — making it all the way to the finals — but Australia beat them in the closing seconds.

Less than a week later, the team had another chance at an event in Hungary, where they played in the semi-finals against Spain.

“We were tied with one second left on the clock, and one of the girls on the Spanish team threw the ball over her head and it went in, so we ended up losing that game and had to play in the third place game, which was our last opportunity to qualify,” she said.

Crozon’s team secured their ticket to Paris after beating Hungary in the bronze medal final — an accomplishment that’s been five years in the making.

“When we started playing in 2019, it was our sole goal of playing in the Olympics. It didn't happen for us that following year, but we've stuck with it, and now, five years later, we're finally able to achieve our goal,” she said.

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Crozon told CTV News she’s proud to represent her home community of Humboldt.

The feeling is mutual, according to Humboldt mayor Michael Behiel.

“It’s great when we can showcase the talents that we've always known exist in our community, and so when people like Paige get through and get into the Olympics, it's just a feather in our cap and makes us proud of her and her accomplishments,” Behiel said.

Crozon said the team has four more circuits before they head to Paris, which will help them prepare for the big event.

“We’ve now faced every single team in the Olympics multiple times and have had to play in very close games and very stressful moments, which I think will provide us with that experience that we need leading into the Olympics,” she said.