November 29, 2015.

Exactly 250 days to the opening ceremonies of the Rio Sumer Games.

A continent away from where the Olympic cauldron will be lit, in Angers, France, Lizanne Murphy drove for a layup when an opponent crashed into her, causing a torn ACL in the Canadian forward's right knee.

When I got injured on the baseline and fell on the floor, I counted the months from that day to the Olympics," says Lizanne, who plays professionally with Angers' LFB team. "In five seconds, I had the whole picture."

Lizanne is heading into her second Olympics and feeling 100%, having defied the norm with a remarkable return to action.

The generally accepted post-ACL surgery period- six or seven months recovery - simply wasn't going to work for the aspiring Olympian.

"In my head I had an aggressive plan the entire time," says Lizanne, who had ACL reconstruction on Dec. 4. "I know people that have come back from ACL injuries in four months. It's difficult to do and a lot depends on how your body reacts to surgery and how fast your muscles come back, but in the back of my mind I was on a four-month timeline."

From the get-go, Lizanne was ahead of schedule. She was walking not long after surgery, then jogging at around 10 weeks. At four months she was on the court doing drills.  She was a full participant as Team Canada opened training camp in May. And then on June 4, in Palencia against host Spain, Lizanne played her first game.

"I was very nervous for that, so when that day was over, it was huge relief," says Lizanne. "It was like, Ok." "We're ok."

A native of Beaconsfield, Que., Lizanne is in her 10th year with the Senior Women's National Team. The 2012 Olympic Team member has always been able to contribute in a number of ways, adding new dimensions to her game along the way.

This ACL injury has resulted in further evolution of the 32-year-old veteran, who might not be doing things quite as wildly as before.

"Some things in my game have changed, and that's ok," she says.

"I think you just get smarter."

by. Brian Swane

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