Coming back from cancer, Brazil rugby sevens star Raquel Kochhann ready to tackle her third Olympics

She heard her No. 10 being called, tapped hands with a teammate who was leaving the field, and ran into position for Brazil, a smile on her face.

She made a quick sign of the cross, rubbed her hands and held them up with fingers splayed to receive the ball. And then Raquel Kochhann nodded: Play on.

That also seems to be her life motto. A deep desire to chase her dreams has seen Kochhann overcome breast cancer, surgery, and months of follow-up treatment to return to the highest level of rugby sevens and have a shot at her third Olympics.

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After more than 1 1/2 years on the sidelines, initially with an injured knee and then for her cancer recovery, Kochhann reappeared for Brazil in January at the world sevens series event in Perth. She helped Brazil reach the quarterfinals in Los Angeles, played in Hong Kong and in the series finale in Madrid.

Now she’s preparing for the Paris Games, where women’s sevens kicks off July 28.

The most difficult person to convince she’d be ready in time for Paris was her doctor “because of the complexity of the case,” Kochhann says.

“He always supported me, but he was apprehensive and careful,” the 31-year-old Brazilian tells The Associated Press. “To this day, his heart is in his mouth whenever I take some kind of hit.”

Heavy hits are a regular occurrence in the condensed, fast-paced version of rugby known as sevens (because