Sinclair savouring win before considering future
Gold medal attributed to team’s closeness
It has been a long journey to the top of the podium for Christine Sinclair, and after winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics, the captain of Canada’s national women’s soccer team is going take a well-deserved breather.
Sinclair, 38, inspired a country with her incredible hat-trick performance in a semifinal loss to the United States at the 2012 Olympics in London, and nine years later, her journey came full circle with Canada winning the women’s Olympic soccer tournament in Japan.
Having returned to North America, the magnitude of the accomplishment — beating the United States in the semifinal and then Sweden in the final — has yet to sink in for the most prolific international goal scorer of all time.
“Honestly, I haven’t had time to process it, it has been a whirlwind since that game ended, spending a couple of days in the Olympic Village enjoying it and then enjoying the closing ceremonies,” Sinclair said from her home in Portland on Tuesday.
“I just got home late last night, so it hasn’t even sunk in yet. But I’ll tell you there is no better feeling than standing at the top of the podium with your best friends and people that you’ve experienced all the joys and all the lows that sports brings you.
“Standing up there listening to the Canadian national anthem is a moment I’ll never forget. But in terms of the gold medal, it has not sunk in yet, and I’m not sure when it will.”
Sinclair has been the face of soccer in Canada for the better part of the past two decades and has not made a decision on her future with the national team.
She plans on returning to B.C. to share her most recent accomplishment with family and friends before playing out the National Women’s Soccer League season with the Portland Thorns.
With the Tokyo Olympics delayed for a year, the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is around the corner, followed by the Paris Games in 2024.
“I went into this tournament knowing that when the tournament was over that I would be faced with these types of questions,” Sinclair said. “I made a conscious decision to know that I wasn’t going to make a decision at the end of the tournament.
“There are so many emotions, whether you win gold or you lose in some devastating way, I knew I wasn’t going to make a decision and I’m not going to make a decision right now.
“I still, physically, feel great, I’m pumped to re-join my Portland Thorns teammates and try to win some championships here, but at this point I don’t know what the future holds for me.”
Regardless, watching Sinclair and her teammates win gold after back-to-back bronze-medal performances at the previous two Olympics was an iconic moment in Canadian sports.
Despite the early-morning kickoff time across the country, over 4.4 million Canadians tuned in to watch the gold medal game, making it the most-watched event of the Games in the country, according to CBC.
Sinclair credits the closeness of the team to its success, with the core having been together for a number of years, experiencing a wide range of emotions with each other.
“I think, heading into every tournament, we know our X-factor is our connection,” Sinclair said. “I think a lot of teams say they’re a close-knit team, but we truly are.
“These are some of my best friends and they have been for years, and we’ve been through a lot together.
“Throughout the course of the tournament, we chose to spend time together. We chose to play games and that’s how we pass the time. I think what you saw in this tournament was that the best ‘team’ won.
“All (head coach) Bev (Priestman) asked of us was for everyone to do their part. No one had to play out of their minds.
“She knew we had the components to go far in this tournament and everyone needed to do their jobs and I think you saw that throughout the course of the entire tournament.”