Gold medallist Christine Sinclair on her new mission, and those retirement questions

VANCOUVER —
The Games are over and she’s left Tokyo with a gold medal, but Burnaby’s Christine Sinclair says it still hasn’t sunk in that she’s an Olympic champion.

“I will tell you there is no greater feeling than standing on the top of the podium with your best friends, with the people that you’ve experienced all the joys and all the lows this sport brings you,” said Sinclair.

Like all Canadians, her heart was in her throat when the gold medal match went to penalty kicks.

“This I think is the first shootout I was ever not physically part of and I was in the sidelines. And it was the worst experience of my life,” she said. When Vancouver’s Julia Grosso scored the game winner, it quickly turned into the best experience.

Now that her team has captured Olympic gold, Sinclair has a new focus: bringing professional women’s soccer to Canada.

“I think we are the only country ranked in the top 10 to not have some sort of professional environment for their players to play in,” said Sinclair. “It’s time for that to change, and we are hoping this platform will give us the opportunity to start that change.”

As for whether the 38-year-old national team captain will continue to play for Canada, or retire at the top of her sport? That decision is on hold.

“At this point I honestly don’t know what the future will hold for me. Definitely going to take some time with my family and discuss things and you know, see where I am at in a month. That’s when I will start to really think about what I want to do,” she said.

She’s returned to her professional team in Portland with a gold medal around her neck. But Sinclair can’t wait to come home to Burnaby on Thursday, where she’ll keep the Olympic celebration going with friends and family she hasn’t seen since Christmas.

“My message to the people of B.C. would just be a massive thank-you for their support throughout the course of all these years. It is truly the best place to grow up, it’s where I learned everything about soccer,” Sinclair said. “I can’t wait to get home and be able to share it with people close to me.”