LAPPAGE Danielle Suzanne

General
RIO DISAPPOINTMENT
She had to pull out of her first bout at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro after rupturing her hamstring while warming up for the match. "I managed to walk out from backstage and onto the wrestling mat. I crouched, getting into my wrestling stance. The whistle blew. My competitor snapped my head; as I posted out my leg to defend the action I collapsed, having no strength in my leg. The ref again blew the whistle, asking if I was okay. He was confused because nothing appeared to have happened. I walked to my coaches, big-eyed and scared. I was pinching myself, thinking that this moment had to be a nightmare. I looked out into the spectators, instantly finding my parents in the crowd. Their faces looked confused and scared. I started to bawl. I knew I couldn't continue. I had to withdraw from the rest of the tournament. That was the end of my Olympic journey." (wreaperwrestling.com, 15 Aug 2020; cba.ca, 05 Jun 2019)

FUTURE PLANS
She hopes to become a police officer after retiring from wrestling. "Initially I thought I wanted to go into law after [wrestling]. But once I got into grad school, I realised that I did not want to do that. I would like to be a police officer after my athletic career. I think the physical aspect will motivate me to stay in shape because policing is physical, you're doing a lot of walking. Maybe not so much combat, like hopefully you're not fighting that much. I know it's really rare in policing. The team aspect of policing, they're all teammates. Hard work, working together." (LinkedIn profile, 01 Feb 2021; nationalpost.com, 06 Jun 2016)

FURTHER EDUCATION
She has a master's degree in criminology from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC, Canada. From 2017 to 2021 she was studying law at the University of Calgary. (Instagram profile, 28 Jan 2021; LinkedIn profile, 01 Feb 2021; opromouthguards.com, 01 Sep 2020; wreaperwrestling.com, 15 Aug 2020)