Beijing-bound rhythmic gymnast Alexandra Orlando knows a thing or two about falling down and picking herself back up.

The 21-year-old North Yorker and Havergal College grad - currently Canada's top prospect in the four-discipline rhythmic gymnastics event at the Olympic Games in China - missed the qualifying mark in 2004 by a tenth of a point.

Disheartened by not making the cut that year, she considered giving up on her Olympic dream.

But after 16 years of dreaming, she didn't have it in her to surrender.

"It was a huge blow to my confidence," she recalled last week, a day prior to boarding a plane for this year's Olympics. "I definitely toyed with the idea, but I loved it too much to finish on such a low like that."

She bounced back with fervour and secured a berth, this time with a personal best ninth-place performance at the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in September, making her the only Canadian to qualify since Toronto's Emily Livingstone did so in 2000.

The landmark results at the world championships also doubly elevated Orlando's international ranking from 18th to ninth, another factor that help put some wind back into the Olympian's sails.

Preceding the world championships, Orlando - who also earns the distinction of being the first Canadian to have a top-ten world ranking in 24 years - won six gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in 2006.

The record medal haul, which tied an event record, provided some well-needed inspiration and poured fuel onto a flame that was beginning to fizzle out.

"(Winning the six medals) was the most amazing experience of my career so far hands down," said the fourth-year University of Toronto political science major who trains out of Ritmika Rhythmic Gymnastics Club. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I could achieve this for myself and my country. It was definitely a high."

She remembers that in addition to feeling incredibly upbeat, she also experienced that surreal feeling many Olympians refer to when they realize a goal.

"I remember it was like some sort of a dream, not too far off from how I feel now," she said, reflecting back to the few days following the Commonwealth Games in '06. "Until then I had lost so much confidence. I hadn't even thought about trying to qualify for the next Olympics."

Orlando said her family - parents Paul and Marisa and younger sister Victoria - has been her biggest fan. Realizing her Olympic dream, she said, has been to the sacrifice of her entire family, all of whom, she acknowledged, have been exceptional in their support.

"I wouldn't be where I am today without them," she said. "They have been there for me no matter what. They have had to put up with things you couldn't even imagine and they couldn't be prouder of me... We haven't had a vacation since I was seven years old," she noted.

Orlando suffered a torn anterior talo-fibular ligament in her ankle late last month during a competition in Europe, which meant bowing out of a few events leading up to the Olympics, including the recent nationals.

She expects the downtime to work in her favour.

"Not being in the gym has given me so much more motivation now that I'm back... I feel like I have something to prove," she said. "The Olympics is all that matters this year. It is what I've been working for my whole life and I couldn't risk hurting myself again."

The gymnastics events will take place from Aug. 9 to 24 at the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium.