Douma-Hussar made her international debut for Canada the following year at the 2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, placing 69th in the short race. She improved upon this at the 2002 short race with a 53rd-place finish. In the 2002 track season she improved her indoor mile best to 4:38.02 minutes to win at the Gator Invitational then set an outdoor best of 4:37.55 minutes in Falmouth. She also set a 1500 m best of 4:14.60 minutes at the Georgia Tech Invitational. She was 37th at the 2003 World Cross Country and greatly improved her track bests. She was third in the mile at both the New Balance Games and Boston Indoor Games, setting a best of 4:35.94 minutes. She won the 1500 m at the Harry Jerome Classic with a new personal record of 4:08.09 minutes and won the national title in that event a month later.