TOKYO — During the 2008 Olympics, Kaleigh Rafter was 21 and representing Canada even though she had not yet finished her college softball career. Still, she thought she probably wouldn’t have a chance to play in the Olympics much longer, because her sport had been voted out from the permanent program.
“I remember telling my roommate like, ‘I won’t be a 34-year-old on this team ever,’” Rafter, a catcher, recently recalled. “‘That’s not going to be me. I’m going to be out of the sport by then.’
“And then sure enough, here I am.”
Not only is Rafter back for the Olympics, but so are her Canadian teammates Lauren Regula, Jenn Salling and Danielle Lawrie.