Player's Own Voice

Player's Own Voice podcast: Anxious times with athlete representative Diana Matheson

Player's Own Voice podcast records a carefully distanced check in with Canadian soccer star Diana Matheson, who is thinking about the big picture role of sports during this upheaval.

Canadian women's soccer star shares perspective with CBC Sports' Anastasia Bucsis

Canadian Olympic Athlete Diana Matheson poses for a photo during media in Toronto on Thursday December 12, 2019.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young (The Canadian Press)

Anastasia Bucsis, podcast host and two-time Olympic speed skater, is not one to sit idle, even during circumstances such as this. So, as we continue to gather conversations for the upcoming season three of Player's Own Voice, we are also testing our ability to work remotely and responsibly.

With the whiplash changes in Tokyo 2020 Olympic news,  POV podcast  turns to Diana Matheson, soccer star and Canadian athlete representive. The veteran team leader discusses how her friends, teammates and professional sports colleagues are coping.

Matheson herself is fresh off a  two week quarantine — the result of a National Team trip to a tournament in France. She's seeing a mixture of reactions, athlete by athlete,  to the decision to postpone the 2020 Olympics. She sees pride and immediate relief that Canada led the charge to postpone the Tokyo Games … but that feeling is slowly giving way to more complex questions and reactions, and Matheson brings some of those to the fore.

It's a quick check in, a snapshot of hectic recent days.  Player's Own Voice will be back to regular weekly episodes in a few weeks.

Like the CBC Sports' Player's Own Voice essay series, POV podcast lets athletes speak to Canadians about issues from a personal perspective. 

To listen to Diana Matheson, or any guests from previous seasons, subscribe for free on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Tune In or wherever you get your other podcasts.