Maple Ridge’s Karina Leblanc will be heading to London for the 2012 Olympic Summer Games after the Canadian women’s national soccer team confirmed the veteran goalkeeper would be in the Olympic lineup Monday morning.
As the team’s No. 1 goalie, Monday’s announcement was a formality for the 32-year-old, who will be making her second Olympic appearance with Team Canada.
LeBlanc helped backstop Team Canada to a berth in the Olympics with a 3-1 win over Mexico at the CONCACAF women’s soccer qualifier tournament in Vancouver in January.
LeBlanc will share goalkeeping duties with Erin McLeod of St. Albert, Alberta at the Olympic tournament.
This has been a year filled with milestones for the local goalkeeper, as she registered her 100th international cap in March.
LeBlanc injured her ankle in practice last month, but has since been cleared to play.
Team Canada is hoping to erase the memory of its winless, first-round exit from last summer’s Women’s World Cup last year that saw finish dead last.
After flaming out early at the 2011 World Cup, Team Canada rebounded with a gold medal win at the Pan Am Games and are currently ranked No. 7 in the world. The team’s only Olympic appearance was in 2008 in Beijing, where the Canada finished in eighth place after losing to the US in the quarterfinals.