Past CAN Fund recipient, Alexandra Orlando is supporting Canadian athletes by selling her book “Breaking Through My Limits – An Olympian Uncovered.” $5 from every book purchased through the CAN Fund boutique will directly support Canadian athletes training for London and beyond.

Alexandra Orlando is an Olympic athlete who dedicated seventeen years of her life to the sport of rhythmic gymnastics, winning almost two hundred medals. She was Senior Canadian National Champion by the age of sixteen— a title she won five times, earning her the reputation as one of the few non-Europeans competing at the highest level in this sport. She set a world record for her sport by winning a gold medal in all six events at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, and another three gold medals at the 2007 Pan American Games, resulting in being chosen as the Canadian Flag Bearer in the Closing Ceremonies of both Games. Despite injury, she competed at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, and retired from the sport at the age of twenty-one as one of the top ten gymnasts in the world.

Her incredible story is one of struggle and strength. Through it all, her family and friends watched the sport consume her. Every person that came into her life was affected by the constant fight for perfection, and the mental and physical exhaustion. Those who had the strength never left her side. And when the dust settled, a woman emerged who was stronger than she ever thought she could be. Reflecting back on her life as “Alex the Gymnast,” Alexandra takes a deeper look into who she was during her career, who she had to be, and how this made her the person she is today.

“It’s important for all of us to take the lessons of champions to heart. Alexandra Orlando is a champion of sport but more importantly a champion in life.”

~ Scott Russell, Award winning sports journalist, CBC Network Sports