Editor's Note: With the calendar turning to January, it is now officially an Olympic year. As always, many Cal current and former student-athletes, as well as staff, are expected to participate in Tokyo. Follow CalBears.com for extensive coverage leading up to and during the Summer Games.

 
Emma Wright and Kindred Paul have gone through a lot together as water polo players, including an excruciating 6 minutes, 44 seconds as members of the Canadian National Team back in 2016.

Trailing Italy 8-7 in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Olympic Qualification Tournament, the Canadians couldn't find the equalizing goal. A berth in the semifinals meant a berth in the 2016 Summer Olympics, but the game ended in the same 8-7 score.

Wright and Cal alum Kelly McKee were in the pool in Gouda, The Netherlands, while Paul followed along during her sophomore season in Berkeley. The Italians went on to take the silver medal at Rio, making the narrow loss all the more painful.

Fast forward to last August, where there was an about-face of emotions. Wright, Paul and McKee were all competing together in Lima, Peru, when Team Canada earned a spot in the 2020 Summer Olympics after advancing to the final of the 2019 Pan American Games.

"To come so close last time and then finally achieve that goal and dream is something special," said McKee, who played at Cal from 2013-15 after one season at Hawai'i. "It was absolutely heartbreaking to come so close in 2016, and I'm glad we stuck with it. We kept on fighting these past four years and it paid off."

Wright and Paul began playing in Canada's national team program at a young age and both committed to Cal. While Paul came to Berkeley for her freshman year in 2015, Wright deferred her enrollment to train with Team Canada before joining the Golden Bear program in 2017.

Wright and Paul played two seasons together at Cal. Paul graduated in 2018 while Wright has played three seasons for the Bears and will be a senior in 2021 after returning from a one-year layoff to prepare for the Olympic Games.

"We've been together, not only in Berkeley, but we have been on junior teams together for a really long time," Wright said. "When the game ended, I remember just looking at her and saying, 'We did this.'"

While Wright and fellow Cal Olympians Dora Antal, Anna Illes and Roser Tarrago missed the 2016 season to train, Paul was named an ACWPC All-American honorable mention. But she still had her mind on her homeland during the season.

"It was hard being so far away and watching them lose their grip on their dream," Paul said. "My heart broke a little bit for them. I know how much they put into it. They just poured their heart and soul into it."

Wright, Paul and McKee won't become official 2020 Olympians until Team Canada names its final roster later this year. Wright is already training with the team and will miss Cal's 2020 season, along with Kitty Lynn Joustra (The Netherlands) and Elli Protopapas (Greece).

"I'm heartbroken that I'm not going to be with them this year, but I'm chomping at the bit to get ready," Wright said. "I'm excited to train, and then excited to come back after the Olympics and be refreshed and just ready to go for my last year."

The Netherlands and Greece will each get a chance to qualify for the 2020 Summer Games later this month at the European Championships in Budapest, Hungary. The World Qualification Tournament takes place in March.