BOURGES (France) - I represented my country as a 21-year-old at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2014 in Istanbul. It was a surreal experience for a young girl born in county Victoria, playing alongside my idol, Penny Taylor, and against the best players in the world in front of passionate European fans.

The following year I signed with the New York Liberty in the WNBA and called Madison Square Garden home. After two shoulder surgeries and a knee injury, I had emerged, and I was fulfilling my dream to play basketball at the highest level. But life doesn't always go in a straight line and it is the bruises and bumps that you take along the journey that make you who you are both as a person and as a professional athlete.

(Photo credit: Lauri Jean, Basketball Australia)

After missing selection for the Rio Olympic Games, I decided that I wasn't going to look back... I was going to get better. I would be in control of my own destiny, not somebody else.

The tears that everyone saw at the decisive Olympic qualifier against Brazil in Bourges, as it dawned on me that Australia was going to qualify for a place at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, were those of someone totally overwhelmed with joy and emotion. At that moment, the world seemed to stop. And as hard as I tried to bottle those emotions, it was pointless.

By the sound of the final buzzer, tears just flooded to the surface.

"WHEN I SIT AND THINK ABOUT THE 12 TEAMS THAT HAVE QUALIFIED FOR THE OLYMPICS AND EVERY PLAYER IN THOSE TEAMS, I FEEL JOY IN THE FACT THAT WE'RE ALL SHARING SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL."- Bec Allen

For me, on a personal level, I was both grateful and relieved that all the hard work, the goals set and the sacrifices made were all going to be rewarded. Even more special, I could share this experience with my Australian teammates - my friends.

I have a lot of confidence in my Opals teammates. We have a coach in Sandy Brondello, who understands the women's game and genuinely cares about women's basketball and her players. You can't help but be inspired by that.

My journey to Tokyo has included successful European club seasons in Slovakia, France and Poland, as well as five years in the WNBA with the New York Liberty. It's not easy living so far away from home, but I am definitely a better and more rounded player for that experience. I know that I am ready for the next challenge.

When I sit and think about the 12 teams from all corners of the globe that have qualified for the 2020 Olympics and each and every player in those teams, many of whom I have played against or with, I feel joy in the fact that we are all sharing something very special. Experiences like these; my dreams, have been their dreams too.

I'm not making any predictions for Tokyo. What I do know is that the Australian Opals have given themselves a shot at the ultimate prize. Our aim will be to bring home the Gold. I also know that there won't be a tighter or more "together" group in Tokyo than us. I can't wait!

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Bec Allen

Having suited up for Australia at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup in Chile, Allen graduated to the senior team and competed for the Opals at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2014, helping the team to a third-place finish. In 2018, she excelled as Australia reached the Final of the World Cup in Tenerife. At the FIBA Women's Asia Cup in 2019 in Bengaluru, Allen earned a spot in the All-Star Five and then scooped the same honor at the 2020 FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Bourges, where Australia claimed one of the three spots on offer for the Tokyo Games.