Notable quotes from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics: Aug. 8, 2021

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This article was published 08/08/2021 (1748 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TOKYO – Here are some notable quotes from Canadians and other athletes at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Aug. 8, 2021.

“No point or second was ever easily taken from Team Canada. We saw there is a knife-edge difference between brilliance and breakdown. It takes bravery to believe in one when you know when you are risking the other.”

— Team Canada chef de mission Marnie McBean.

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“I was driving a truck eight hours a day, no break, as my partner was spraying weeds in a ditch. I was like ‘For me, I’m not done with sport, I want to see what else I can do.’ And then I found track cycling.”

— Canadian track cyclist Kelsey Mitchell, who won gold in the women’s sprint on the final day of the Games.

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“They were super inspiring. Malindi (Elmore) and Natasha (Wodak), absolutely smashed it. And Dayna (Pidhoresky, who finished despite an injury) showed how much determination she had. So, I just knew if Dayna could stick it out there with all that determination, I can do the same. And I owe it to the country and my competitors to just give it my all.”

— Canadian marathoner Ben Preisner, on drawing inspiration from Canada’s women’s marathoners, who competed a day earlier, to help power through a tough men’s race.

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“I remember when I was growing up, sitting on the couch and watching athletes like Donovan Bailey and Catriona Le May Doan with my mom … and seeing how much effect that they had on my life and inspired me.

“I have no doubt that these same athletes that competed here at this Games will have that same effect.”

— Olympic decathlon champion Damian Warner on being named Canada’s flag-bearer for the closing ceremony.

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“I feel at peace. I went out, had all the confidence in these amazing women. I wanted to take it all in one last time around, and it was special.”

— Sprinter Allyson Felix, who finishes her final Olympics as the United States’ most decorated track athlete with 11 medals.

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“A lot of people had to sacrifice a lot for us to be here and had to learn along the way/ We had to learn that in London and in Rio that we just weren’t enough at that point. Did we believe it in that moment? Absolutely. We had to go one extra step to figure it out.”

— Captain Jordan Lawson after the United States’ women’s volleyball team captured its first Olympic gold medal with a win over Brazil.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2021.