By RYAN PYETTE -- Winnipeg Sun
 SYDNEY -- The dairy farmer's daughter did it.

 Landmark's Dominique Bosshart will bring Olympic bronze home to Manitoba after defeating Croatia's Natasa Vezmar 11-8 in the women's taekwondo over-67kg division's bronze-medal match last night at the State Sports Centre in Sydney.

 Following the bout, the 22-year-old Bosshart, who's probably the first Canadian medallist in history to wear a tongue stud, pumped her fists in the air and waved to her father Henry in the stands.

 "On this day, I really wanted to give everything I had inside of me, and I did that," smiled Bosshart before the official podium ceremony. "I finally conquered my fear."

 Oddly enough, Bosshart's fear had a human form. Her name was Adriana Carmona of Venezuela.

 Four times in the past the two had tangled. All four times Bosshart lost.

 And after falling to Russian Natalia Ivanova in her second bout of the day, Bosshart slipped into the repechage bracket which contested the bronze medal.

 Her first opponent? Carmona, of course.

 If she lost, Bosshart would go home without a medal, and she'd be forced to pile on even more fear from the past.

 "The Venezuelan always seemed to be like a monster to me, I always felt like a mouse in there against her," said the eight-time Canadian champ, who checks in at a not-so-mouse-like 5-foot-10, 170 pounds (77kg). "Back in 1998, I had a bad year, and she kicked my butt pretty good. I didn't have the confidence I needed to beat her.

 "But there's no doubt she's been the object of my fear. When I think about fear, I think about her."

 A good showing -- albeit a loss -- against Carmona at home in Winnipeg during last year's Pan Am Games proved to her that it could be done one day.

 Her fear could be forever beaten.

 YEARS OF FRUSTRATION

 "Honestly, I just wanted to let everything out, I knew I had nothing to lose, and I wanted to pour out all those years of frustration into one bout," she said.

 Despite Bosshart's best intentions, the Venezuelan built a comfy 10-5 lead into the third round.

 But Bosshart unleashed a deadly flurry of kicks to pull within one.

 At the final buzzer, the scoreboard said 10-9 for Carmona, but the Venezuelan was deducted two points for stalling, giving Bosshart the 9-8 win and a spot in the bronze final.

 With a fearless Bosshart unleashed in the final, poor Croatian Natasa Vezmar didn't stand much of a chance.

 "For me, that (repechage match against Carmona) was everything," smiled Bosshart. "It was even bigger than winning the medal because I had seen her in my mind all the time for so long.

 "To finally beat her is a huge monkey off my back."

 And it paid off with a medal around her neck.

 She hoped this feeling would never go away.

 Bosshart had trained and worked for this moment since she was a pre-teen.

 Back then, her dad, or coach, or friend would make the drive into Winnipeg so she could go for practice.

 At age 15, she moved to the city and sacrificed a lot of family time to prepare for the one day she would compete in the Olympics.

 She went to South Korea for two months this summer to free her mind of fear and evil thoughts. To improve her karma against Carmona.

 All of it worked.

 "I believed, I trusted that the ability was inside of her," said Bosshart's coach, Winnipegger Jay Kang. "She always had the equipment. She just had to display it. That's what we said to her.

 "Time to display it."

 Last night, she did.

 And now, she's coming home with a pretty symbolic bronze necklace.

 It's ample proof her fear won't be making the return trip.