For all the great sports accomplishments by Maple Ridge athletes, few will ever compare to that of Team Canada softball player, and cancer survivor, Larissa Franklin.
The veteran outfielder only learned that her cancer was in remission just three days before the start of Softball Canada’s national team training camp for 2025, and despite that, she still managed to train herself back onto the team for her 13th season.
She had just a trace of hair coming back in, after needing chemotherapy to fight lymphoma.
In late 2024, Franklin said she had felt “something was off,” and she felt a bump in front of her ear. In January 2025, a biopsy confirmed she had an aggressive form of the cancer.
At first, sports no longer mattered – she just needed to get healthy.
But as her treatment progressed, Franklin became determined to keep her place in the Team Canada lineup.
The chemo left her exhausted – going to bed at 7:30 p.m. She couldn’t get frustrated by training sessions where she did just 80 per cent of the normal Franklin training.
“I had to be okay with doing less – being content with what I had to give,” she shared.
On June 7, three days before the team started camp, Franklin learned her cancer was in remission.
Being named to Team Canada this year was unlike any of the previous 12 seasons.
“It definitely was extra special,” she said.
Franklin recalled the meeting when her coach told her she was back on the team.
“We had a moment. There were tears. We knew it was more than sport.”
Coach Kayleigh Rafter, the team’s long-time catcher, was moved to watch her teammate of 12 years come through this trial. They talked early on about how Franklin needed softball to look forward to.
“It was really awesome to be able to see her get a clean bill of health, and be able to come back and be around her teammates,” said Rafter. “And she hasn’t missed a beat.”
“She’s a pretty special person with her love for people, and her love for being around this sport,” Rafter added. “We’re glad she’s back with us.”
Franklin competed in Colombia at the Pan American Championships, in China at the 2025 World Games, and other international events.
Not slowing down, she’s hoping to make the squad again in 2026.
“You’ve got to make the team every single year,” she explained.
She hopes to get through the selection process, and be in the lineup as the team takes the field in Prague, Czechia in June for a World Cup group stage event.
Longer term, her goal is to play in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. She turns 33 in March, and brings veteran leadership to the team, along with a great glove in the outfield, and a top-of-the-order bat.
“I joke about staying on longer, but one step at a time,” she said.
Franklin said the cancer remains in remission, and she’s at the peak of her powers as a high-performance athlete.