However, her Olympic journey was nearly cut short by an unexpected obstacle: her Venezuelan passport had expired.
Under Olympic regulations, athletes must carry valid passports. However, due to diplomatic constraints, Venezuela's consular services in Canada are not fully operational, making passport renewals impossible there.
Less than two weeks before the Olympics, Claveau-Laviolette flew back to Venezuela to take care of new paperwork.
Within a week, Claveau-Laviolette completed the paperwork while attending media events and meeting with officials from the Venezuelan Olympic Committee.
The committee's president, Maria Soto, helped expedite the document processing process.
"I was treated like royalty," he recalled. "So many Venezuelans wrote to me, saying they were proud of me and wanted to see me compete. That really touched my heart."
Her passport was issued on time. When Claveau-Laviolette finally stood on the Olympic starting line, she carried not only her own aspirations, but also the hopes of supporters thousands of kilometers away.
