An emotional Kish goodbye
Injuries took a toll, but Olympic medal ‘inspired’ Canadians
After sacrificing her body for Canada for 13 years, Jen Kish called it quits Monday.
The former Canadian rugby sevens captain had planned to retire in July at the end of the season. But hip and neck injuries forced the 29-year-old from Edmonton to move up that retirement date.
The news drew a flurry of congratulations. “What a LEGEND,” tweeted Canadian international soccer goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe.
“You truly are extraordinary. World Class, a Legend,” echoed former teammate Mandy Marchak.
“An idol to many young girls out there. You have paved the way!” tweeted former men’s captain John Moonlight, who retired last week to become a firefighter in his native Pickering. The accolades stunned Kish. “I’m at a loss for words,” she said in an interview. “I just see myself as somebody who just played a sport with some of her best friends. And along the way we inspired a couple of people.
“To have people send such nice messages, telling me they’re going to miss seeing me play the sport I love, yeah, it definitely brings emotions to it. I’m just grateful at being able to spend so many years in the Canadian jersey.”
Kish leaves the sport with a gold medal from the 2015 Pan American Games, silver from the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sev- ens and bronze from the 2016 Olympics.
A nominee for world sevens player of the year in 2013, she played in 134 matches on the world sevens circuit, scoring 34 tries and 170 points.
“There are very few in the game like her,” Canada coach John Tait said.
Kish’s recent injury woes started prior to Rio in May 2016 when she was slammed into the turf at the Clermont Sevens. She finished the game but was left with a concussion and a neck injury that has since been exacerbated.
Kish has been playing through two bulging discs in her neck, along with some disc degeneration and bone spurs.
Last May, Kish cracked her pelvis on the first day of competition in Langford, B.C. Amazingly she finished the tourna- ment after sitting out the quarterfinal because she could hardly walk. A subsequent scan also turned up a hip labral tear that will require surgery.
Kish’s last outing for Canada was at the Sydney stop of the World Series circuit in January.
“Ultimately after speaking to many specialists, the only way that my body is going to start to get better is if I stop playing,” she said.
Kish plans to take up personal training again and hopes to give back to rugby some way.
“I grew up with nothing and now I have a life just filled with lot of great things and it’s because of rugby … It has a spot for everybody and that’s the great thing about the sport.”