Canadian women play starring role in unforgettable year of sports history, triumph
Canada's female athletes serve as beating heart of nation's athletics in sparkling 2021
The most-watched moment of the Tokyo Olympic Games. The most decorated Olympian of all-time. Eighteen of Canada's 24 medals in Tokyo.
Canadian women were at the heart of it all in 2021.
Even away from the Olympics, two of the biggest moments involved — you guessed it — Canadian women.
From the soccer team's golden game to Penny Oleksiak in the pool to hockey redemption and a surprising march to a tennis Grand Slam final, here are the performances that wowed us this year.
Soccer team changes colour of the medal
"Change the colour of the medal" was the motto of the Canadian women's soccer team ahead of Tokyo. Mission accomplished.
Their journey captivated the nation. From back-to-back bronze medals in 2012 and 2016 to Olympic champions in Tokyo, 4.4 million Canadians tuned in to CBC to watch captain Christine Sinclair and Co. play Sweden for gold.
In the quarter-finals, goalkeeper Steph Labbé was instrumental in a penalty shootout win over Brazil, stopping two.
Next was the semifinal win over longtime nemesis, and reigning World Cup champions, the United States. The last time they'd beaten the Americans was back in March 2001. And who could forget the controversial loss in the semifinals at London 2012? But thanks to a cool penalty from 23-year-old midfielder Jessie Fleming, all that heartbreak was erased.
The nail-biting gold-medal game against Sweden went to penalties, where youngsters stepped up. Twenty-two-year-old Deanne Rose kept Canada alive in the shootout before 21-year-old Julia Grosso nailed home the winning kick to set off a frenzied, tearful celebration.
WATCH | Canada stuns Sweden to capture gold:
Team effort, for sure, but individual highlights kept coming. Fleming, Sinclair and Ashley Lawrence all earned nominations for the Ballon d'Or, as the globe's top player of the calendar year.
Sinclair, Labbé and Priestman are up for FIFA's Best awards in February.
Midfielder Quinn became the first openly transgender and non-binary athlete to win an Olympic medal and continues to be a powerful voice for transgender athletes around the world.
Maggie Mac Neil's golden moment
In the pool, the look of awe said it all.
But it wasn't just her swimming that endeared her to Canadians and global audiences. It was also her priceless reaction when she won. After touching the wall, she squinted at the scoreboard to find out where she'd placed.
WATCH | Mac Neil swims to Canada's 1st gold of Tokyo Games:
Her realization and that look of surprise was truly meme-worthy. Turns out she's near-sighted and doesn't wear contacts or prescription goggles when swimming.
Mac Neil finished the Games with three medals, one of each colour, thanks to her contributions on the relay teams.
She was named the best female athlete of the Tokyo Games by the Association of National Olympic Committees.
Fernandez's march to the U.S. Open final
Though she didn't win the ultimate prize at the U.S. Open, Leylah Fernandez transfixed Canadians with her performance in Flushing Meadows.
The 19-year-old left-hander from Laval, Que., came into the tournament ranked No. 73 in the world. She's since risen to No. 24.
WATCH | Fernandez makes remarkable run to U.S. Open final:
Her gritty play and underdog status made her a fan favourite in New York, but so did her note-perfect post game interview.
After losing the final, which was played on the anniversary of Sept. 11, she told the crowd: "I just want to say that I hope I can be as strong and as resilient as New York has been the past 20 years."
Aurélie Rivard's major medal haul
Already a star in the Paralympic pool, the 25-year-old from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., brought home a whopping five medals from the Tokyo Games.
It wasn't without bumps, however. In her first race, the 50m freestyle, where she was defending champion, she managed only bronze. Rivard said after the race she felt she had "failed."
She didn't. The swimmer, who was born with an underdeveloped left hand, went on to win four more medals, including gold in the 100m and 400m freestyle S10, setting world records in both events.
Now with a career total of 10 Paralympic medals, she'll look to add to her growing trophy case at Paris 2024.
WATCH | Rivard sets world record en route to multiple Paralympic golds:
Hockey team back where it belongs
Due to the pandemic, international women's hockey had essentially been iced since the 2019 world championships. They were finally resurrected in Calgary in August.
The United States had won five straight world titles, not to mention topping Canada for gold at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang.
The final game was a classic edition of the Canada-U.S. rivalry, with the Canadians storming back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game and take it to overtime.
And just like the 2010 and 2014 Olympic finals, it was Marie-Philip Poulin scoring the golden goal. The captain ripped a bar-down shot at 7:22 of the 3-on-3 overtime to give Canada its first world crown since 2012.
WATCH | Poulin's OT winner seals gold for Canada at worlds:
Mitchell's meteoric rise to gold
Nobody should be able to quickly go from absolute beginner to winning a gold medal. Just don't tell Kelsey Mitchell.
The 28-year-old from Sherwood Park, Alta., topped Ukraine's Olena Starikova 2-0 in the best-of-three final. She joined 2004 Athens sprint champion Lori-Ann Muenzer as the only Canadians to win Olympic gold in track cycling.
WATCH | Mitchell sprints to gold medal in Tokyo:
The golden rowing crew
After finishing fifth at Rio 2016 and fourth at the 2019 world championships, the women's eights were hungry for a medal, but they had to take the long route to get there.
They rowed a Canadian-best time of five minutes 53.73 seconds to win the right to race for the medals.
The Canadians led the final race from start to finish, holding off New Zealand at the end by 0.91 seconds for the gold, Canada's first in the event since Barcelona 1992.
WATCH | Women's 8 rows to 1st gold since 1992 in Tokyo:
Maude Charron lifts her way to Olympic gold
In the 64-kg division, the 28-year-old native of Rimouski, Que., lifted a combined total of 236 kg to grab the gold.
While it was the second gold for Canada in women's Olympic weightlifting, it was the first time O Canada played at the medal ceremony.
Charron hopes her gold medal will inspire more women to take up the sport of weightlifting.
"I hope when women get into the gym, they'll try those intimidating barbells. They're heavy, they're big, but we can do it also," she told CBC Sports."It's not a man's sport. If you check who qualified for Canada, four of the five were women. So we are strong in Canada."
WATCH | Canadian weightlifter Maude Charron captures Olympic gold:
Bujold's fight for gender equality
No medals to chew for the cameras, but Canadian boxer Mandy Bujold is a champion for her fight to compete at the Tokyo Olympics.
Bujold was ranked second in the world before her maternity leave, but didn't compete in the three events used in the International Olympic Committee's pandemic-revised standards. She was aiming to clinch a berth at the Olympic qualifying tournament in May in Buenos Aires, but the event was cancelled due to COVID-19 cases in Argentina.
After weeks of petitions, courtroom battles and appeals, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the qualification criteria must include an accommodation for women who were pregnant or postpartum during the qualification period.
WATCH | Mandy Bujold strikes blow for Olympic gender equality:
Bujold said her fight for qualification was more about gender equality than it was about her Olympic status.
"My Olympic berth is not what matters here," Bujold said. "What matters is the recurring pattern of gender inequality in sport. Women should not be punished for being women. They should be respected for the unique challenges they face and continually overcome."
Softball team makes history
Redemption is an oft-overused word in sport, but for the Canadian women's softball team, it is spot-on.
Reinstated for 2020, for four players — Danielle Lawrie, Kaleigh Rafter, Lauren Regula and Jenn Salling — this was a 13-year journey to get back to the Olympic stage.
In the bronze-medal game against Mexico, with the game tied 2-2 in the top of the fifth, Canada dug deep, taking a one-run lead in the bottom of the inning.
WATCH | Women's softball wins its 1st-ever Olympic medal:
Lawrie finished off the seventh in style, striking out the final two batters to clinch the win, the first softball medal for Canada.
Bittersweet redemption, though. The sport won't return for Paris 2024.
Oleksiak stands above all
She could be her own list. Simply put, Penny Oleksiak is the most-decorated Canadian Olympian of all time.
The record-setting seventh medal was a bronze in the 4x100m medley, which carried Penny past Canadian greats Clara Hughes and Cindy Klassen to write her own unique page in the history books.
In true Penny fashion, she pointed to her medley relay teammates, Mac Neil, Kylie Masse and Sydney Pickrem, tweeting out: 'Trust me, at the top it isn't lonely,' as a little reference to her favourite artist, Drake.
WATCH | Oleksiak becomes most-decorated Canadian Olympian:
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