A photo of the Canadian women's team at the Tokyo Olympics (The Canadian Press)

By Dawson Thompson

Inspirational win

Canada’s golden victory at Olympics a major moment for youth players

Aug 7, 2021 | 3:58 PM

The nail-biting win in the Olympic tournament decider was memorable for Canadians around the country but also an inspiring one for every girl or woman who has aspirations to represent their country on the world stage.

And a high-level local player hopes it boosts the profile for women’s sports.

On Friday morning the Canadian National Women’s Soccer Team won gold at the Olympic Games in Tokyo after defeating Sweden in a tense penalty shootout, 3-2.

It was quite the journey for the girls in red. They played Great Britain, Chile, and hosts Japan in the group stage. In the knockout stage, Canada defeated Brazil in a penalty shootout and beat their long-time rivals USA in the semis before winning the gold against Sweden in the final.

Penalty kicks ‘helpful’

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Kalli Cowles from Prince Albert who plays on the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s soccer team joined a few of her teammates Friday morning to watch the game. Even though she’s not a morning person she said they were up in their pajamas, and in typical Canadian fashion got some Tim Horton’s coffee to enjoy before tuning in.

She explained Sweden had Canada on their toes and could tell they were getting tired but she was proud of them for battling it out.

“I think penalty kicks have really been helpful for them the whole tournament,” she said. “Thank God for PK’s.”

Cowles,23, said this team winning the gold medal should be an inspiration to all young girls in Canada. She remembers fondly watching them finish third at the 2012 Olympics in London.

“I remember I think in 2012 when they won bronze, especially as a young girl, I definitely remember watching with my family and I how I felt,” she explained. “I can’t imagine how younger girls feel now that they’ve won gold.”

Cowles looks up to Christine Sinclair, captain of the Canadian team, who achieved her first gold medal at 38-years-old in her third Olympic games.

“I’m so proud of her,” she said.

With the Canadians pulling out the remarkable win, Cowles hopes to see women’s sports get more media coverage.

“I’ve been seeing [Canada’s win] popping up all over Instagram, Facebook so I think it will really put women’s soccer on the map. And hopefully it will be better and not so hard to find women’s sports on TV but I’m just really proud of them and I think it will definitely inspire the next generation,” she added.

The next generation

“It’s another ‘where were you when this happened’ type of moment for Canadian athletes.”

That’s what Bruce Vance, the Vice-President of the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame told paNOW following the memorable sporting victory for the nation’s women.

“That was an incredible run for sure,” Vance said. “It was a special moment in the sporting history of Canada to see a national rally like that through a long tournament and overcome a lot of obstacles including extreme heat and come out on top in a gut wrenching way like they did.”

Not only is this a great success for the women on the team, but it’s inspiring for many young girls across the country.

“We’re pretty fortunate that the Prince Albert Youth Soccer Association (PAYSA) is very strong and have great female numbers and leadership already,” Vance said. “I think this will just add to the excitement for young females to get out and take up the sport.

“Many girls I’m sure were glued to the game today and were delighted with the outcome. I would anticipate that PAYSA will expect to have a bit of a surge in female soccer registration this year, because they saw the national reaction, what can happen, and how much fun it was to have success at the Olympics.”

The national women’s team won bronze in London in 2012 and in Rio De Janeiro in 2016, and now have that elusive gold after the dramatic success in Japan.

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With files from Ian Gustafson

Dawson.thompson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @dawsonthompson8