By BOB MACKIN
Goalkeeper Erin McLeod, 25, led the Vancouver Whitecaps to W-League titles in 2004 and 2006. She is undefeated at the Olympics and expected to start against Sweden tomorrow.
24: What lessons did the team learn at the World Cup by missing the second round?
McLeod: "We weren't all peaking physically and mentally. This time, as you can tell with our recent results, we're really on our way to peaking."
24: Talk about overcoming the heat and poor air quality in China.
McLeod: "Even the cities we were in we struggled with the air, the humidity and the heat. All the other teams are going to be facing the same things, it'll be a challenge, but not anything we can't overcome."
24: What do you do off-field to focus and relax your mind?
McLeod: "Just being confident with all our own abilities, I'll relax before games and do things to take my mind off it, like draw or I'm teaching myself to play the guitar. I have a little travel guitar."
24: You have a tattoo with the quote: "There is a sacredness in tears. They are not a mark of weakness; but of power." What does that mean to you?
McLeod: "I'm just someone who wears my heart on my sleeve. Emotions play a big part in everything in my life, and especially my sport. I just try to use that to my advantage."
