Sydney Leroux, Canadian-born American soccer player and Olympic gold medalist, said she looks up to teammate Abby Wambach as her role model, according to a report by StarGazzette.com.
"I look up to Abby so much," Leroux told StarGazzette. "She's kind of taken me under her wing and really helped me grow as a soccer player and a professional."
The 23-year-old Leroux is following the footstep of Wambach who is considered soccer's biggest female star.
She has garnered considerable attention off the soccer pitch and has 140,000 people following her on Twitter. Also this year, she appeared in ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue.
"A friend of mine who also appeared in the Body Issue asked me 'Would I do it all again?' I would do it all again, but at that time it was tough. I'm glad I stuck with my guns and did it," she said referring to her Body Issue shoot.
Leroux admitted that she was a little worried about the shoot knowing that she would be appear in semi-nude.
"I was a little worried about what backlash I might get from it," Leroux said. "It was actually very good, I was happy that I did it."
On the field, Sydney Leroux has made a name for herself by being the youngest player on the U.S. Women's Olympic Team's winning squad at the 2012 Summer Games. She scored 14 goals that year while still playing as a reserve and led her team into a record-tying five goals in a 13-0 qualifying victory against Guatemala.
"I think what I had to do to get here, moving from Canada and giving up everything just to chase this dream of playing on the U.S. women's national team, it took mental toughness," Leroux said. "It was the most difficult thing I ever had to do in my life, I didn't remember ever being home - I literally lived out of a suitcase for about seven years."
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