Oakville’s Rampling has overcome injury to make it here

When Isabelle Rampling steps onto the pool deck Monday it will be with some relief.

The Oakville synchronized swimmer has dealt with injuries in the past, but the timing of the latest was less than ideal.

Rampling was at a training camp for Canada's synchronized swim team in the Barbados in June when she rolled her ankle during a warm-up, suffering a third-degree sprain. Rampling has been susceptible to that type of injury since breaking both her heels in 2003.

With the Olympics less than two months away, there was some concern she would not be ready for Beijing. Though she was in the pool the next day, her training was limited.

Rampling said an amazing medical team and high pain tolerance helped ensure she would be ready. It wasn't until the end of July that she again felt 100 per cent but she skipped a tune-up event in Spain as a precautionary measure.

"I'm ecstatic that it's not going to be something like this that's going to prevent me from going (to the Olympics)," Rampling said. "It's been a long time coming. I missed out in 2004 and have been dedicated to delivering my best performance since then."

Synchronized swimming will begin Sunday (Aug. 17), the second week of the Olympics, which has given Rampling and her duo partner Marie-Pier Boudreau Gagnon a little more time to perfect the new routine they will unveil.

"I'm very happy to have the extra week," the 23-year-old said, "Not just necessarily for the extra week of healing, but to make sure we are doing things right. It's a good feeling to know I can still pace myself without risking the same (injury)."

Based on past competitions, the duo and their coaches reworked their program, adding to its difficulty to help them better compete with their rivals.

"I don't foresee any problems," Rampling said. "We're very comparable in our strengths and our routine targets the things we're able to do well."

Rampling will also serve as an alternate for the team event.