The Tokyo Summer Olympics is marking Christine Sinclair’s 300th career appearance with the Canadian national team and her fourth Olympic games. Having earned two back-to-back bronze medals as the captain of the Canadian Women’s Soccer team, this year she has set her sights higher as she goes for the gold.
This year’s team is a mix of experienced and young talent, with Christine once again serving as its captain. The new Canadian head coach Bev Priestman believes her team is capable of getting to the final in Tokyo, with Christine leading the way.
Speaking with CBC Sports prior to the Games, Priestman said “A team like Canada should be on that podium. I do think we need to change the colour of the medal.… To keep moving forward, we have to aim higher than that.”
Christine made her first Olympic appearance at the 2008 Olympics. She helped earn the team’s two bronze medals at the London 2012 Olympics, where she was the team’s leading scorer, and the Rio 2016 Olympics, where she scored the game-winning goal to give Canada the 2-1 victory.
In January 2020, Christine became the all-time leading scorer in the history of international soccer when she scored her 185th goal. She has also been named the Canadian Female Soccer Player of the Year 14 times and been nominated seven times for FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year.
The first match for the Canadian Women’s Soccer team took place earlier this week against the host country, Japan, with Christine making her 187th goal and 12th Olympic goal at the six-minute mark. In a CBC Sports article, they wrote “So long as the 38-year-old forward is on the field, the Reds will always have a chance to win games.”
CBC put together this video to celebrate Christine’s “epic performance” at the 2012 Olympics, which they said helped ignite a passion for women’s soccer in Canada. This was their first bronze-medal win, an achievement no Canadian team had reached since the Summer Olympics in 1936.
Off the field, Christine shares her enthusiasm for sport and her secrets of success with audiences everywhere.
Interested in learning more about Christine and what she can bring to your next event? Email us at [email protected].
