The 34-year-old from North Vancouver almost lost her leg last December but now is considered a gold-medal contender for the first event of the Sydney Olympics, the women's triathlon.

 Her story is nothing short of remarkable.

 Prior to her Dec. 28 operation, Montgomery would experience cramping and swelling in her left leg, which forced her to change her stride and hampered her performance.

 "I was ready to retire, ready to give up," the soft-spoken Montgomery recalled on Thursday, in town to promote the July 8 Toronto Triathlon, a race sanctioned by the International Triathlon Union.

 Frustrated, she underwent a series of tests that showed an artery was partially blocked. One of the potential consequences was amputation.

 She underwent surgery to graft a 15-centimetre section of vein -- about the length of a pen -- to the affected area. This created a circulatory bypass around the problem.

 Her leg was saved. But what about the Olympics? They were just nine months away.

 "I never thought I'd be going to Sydney," she admits.

 After some intense rehab, Montgomery bounced back to win the Rio de Janeiro World Cup triathlon in March and gained an Olympic berth.

 "I was determined. I never thought about getting tired," she says, recalling her rehab.

 Winning her first race back was nothing short of miraculous.

 "I was overwhelmed," she says, remembering what she felt that day after winning.

 In April, she finished second in the 10,000-metres at the Mount San Antonio College Relays in California in a time well under the Canadian Olympic Association's qualifying time.

 The COA hasn't granted her the spot in 10,000 metres yet, but Montgomery may race in both events, which are only nine days apart.

 The women's triathlon, which includes a 1.5-kilometre swim, a 40-kilometre cycle, and a 10-kilometre run is first event of the Olympic Games and will be carried live in prime time on CBC in Canada.

 "That would be great if that happens," she said modestly, when asked about winning a gold medal in the Games' first event.

 Canadian champion Simon Whitfield of Victoria, also a medal contender in the men's event, couldn't stand seeing Montgomery blush when asked about winning gold.

 "Carol is modest," he says. "She wants the gold just like I do."

 The event will be TV-friendly. The race takes place in the Sydney Harbour and Botanical Gardens with the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and downtown Sydney providing the backdrop.

 There's also the little matter of sharks being spotted in the Harbour in recent months, a thought Montgomery shrugged off. "That's out of my control."

 Her last race was in May when she placed second to Australia's Nicole Hackett at the ITU's world championships in Perth, Australia.

 The race was slammed as a fiasco by the Australian media. It was revealed the run leg was over two kilometres short of the Olympic standard of 10 kilometres. The women had run three loops of the run course instead of four.

 Montgomery became suspicious when she realized her time of 25 minutes 21.2 seconds for the run leg was faster than world-record pace.

 But she took it in stride, saying the Sydney Games is where first place really matters.

 "This is the position I wanted to be in going into Sydney," Montgomery says.

 Olympic coach Barrie Shepley believes Montgomery should be the favourite.

 "She's still not at 100 per cent. That's what is so exciting. I saw the looks on the faces of the other women at the worlds," said Shepley, who thinks Montgomery is about at 80 per cent right now.

 "If she has a good swim and a good bike, you might as well hand her the gold medal."

 Nothing has been handed to Carol Montgomery this year. An Olympic medal would the very least of her accomplishments.