Canada's legendary women in sports

Christine Sinclair is a Canadian soccer star who plays as a forward and captains both the Portland Thorns FC and the Canadian national team. She is the world’s all-time leading scorer for international goals, with 190 goals in more than 300 games. She has also won three Olympic medals, including gold in 2020, and two CONCACAF championships. She was born in Burnaby, British Columbia, on June 12, 1983, and started playing soccer at the age of four. She come from a family of soccers players, as her father and two uncles also played the sport professionally.

Hayley Wickenheiser is a Canadian legend who has excelled in both ice hockey and softball. She is widely considered the greatest female hockey player of all time, with four Olympic gold medals, seven world championships, and the most international goals, assists, and points in Canadian history. She was also the first woman to play full-time professional men’s hockey in a position other than goalie, scoring a goal in Finland’s second division. She retired from hockey in 2017 and became a resident physician and an assistant general manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs. She was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and the IHF Hall of Fame in 2019.

Tessa Virtue is a retired ice dancer who won two Olympic gold medals and three world titles with her partner Scott Moir. She is the only ice dancer in history to achieve a Super Slam, having won all major international competitions in her senior and junior careers. She was born on May 17, 1989, in London, Ontario, Canada. She started skating with Moir when she was seven and he was nine. She retired from competitive skating in 2019 and became a resident physician at the University of Toronto. She is also an assistant general manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs. She was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2019. She is also a philanthropist who supports various causes, such as mental health awareness, education, and women’s empowerment. She is involved with organizations such as Bell Let’s Talk, Right To Play, FitSpirit, and Classroom Champions.

Kallie Humphries is a Canadian American bobsledder who has won four Olympic medals and five world championships in her career. She started bobsledding in 2002 and became the first Canadian woman to win Olympic gold in the two-woman event in 2010, along with her brakewoman Heather Moyse. They repeated their feat in 2014, becoming the first female bobsledders to defend their Olympic title. Humphries also won bronze in 2018 with Phylicia George. Humphries is known for her pioneering role in the sport, as she was one of the first women to compete in mixed-gender and all-female four-person teams. In 2019, she switched to representing the United States, citing allegations of abuse and harassment from the Canadian bobsled federation. She won three world championship medals for team USA in 2020 and 2021, making her the most decorates woman in bobsled history.

Rosie MacLennan is a Canadian trampoline gymnast who has won two Olympic gold medals and three world championships in the individual event. She is the first and only trampoline gymnast to defend her Olympic title, having won in London 2012 and Rio 2016. She is also the first Canadian woman to be chosen as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony of the Olympics, which she did in Rio 2016. She started trampolining at the age of seven and trained with her mentor Karen Cockburn, who is also an Olympic medalist. She has also won several medals at the Pan American Games, the Pan American Championships, and the Pacific Rim Championships. She is known for her difficulty, consistency, and elegance on the trampoline. She is currently studying for a master's degree in exercise science at the University of Toronto.

Leylah Fernandez is a Canadian tennis player who has won one WTA title and reached one Grand Slam final. She was born in Montreal in 2002 and started playing tennis at the age of five. She had a successful junior career, winning the 2019 French Open girls’ singles title. She turned pro in 2019 and won her first WTA title at the Monterrey Open in 2021. She also reached the final of the US Open in 2021, beating three top-five players along the way. She represented Canada at the Tokyo Olympics, reaching the second round in singles and mixed doubles. She is currently playing at the National Bank Open in Montreal, her home event.

Brooke Henderson is a Canadian professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. She is the most successful Canadian golfer in history, with 13 LPGA titles, including two major championships. She is also the youngest winner of the Women’s PGA Championship, which she won in 2016 at the age of 18. She has represented Canada at two Olympic Games, finishing seventh in Rio 2016 and fourth in Tokyo 2020. can add a sentence on where she was born. Brooke Henderson was born on September 1à, 1997, in Smith Falls, Ontario.

Kia Nurse is a Canadian basketball player who plays for the Seattle Storm in the WNBA and for Team Canada. She is a former college star at UConn, where she won two NCAA titles. She is also a basketball analyst on TSN. She is known for her defense, scoring, and basketball IQ. She has won several medals at international events, such as the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup and the Pan American Games. She was also selected to play in the 2020 Olympics, where she led Canada to a ninth-place finish. She is one of the top players in the WNBA and a leader for Team Canada.

Sarah Pavan is a Canadian beach volleyball and former indoor volleyball player who has won several medals and titles in her career. Pavan was born on August 16, 1986, in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. She started playing volleyball at the age of five. Pavan played college volleyball at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she led her team to win the 2006 NCAA Division I women’s volleyball tournament, in which she was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. She also won many other awards and honors, such as the Honda Sports Award for volleyball (2007), the Honda-Broderick Cup (2006–07) or the AVCA National Player of the Year (2006). She is currently partnered with Melissa Humana-Paredes, and together they are the reigning world champions and Olympic bronze medalists in beach volleyball.

Marie-Philip Poulin is a Canadian ice hockey forward who is the captain of the national team and a member of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association. She has won three Olympic gold medals, two world championships, and two Clarkson Cups in her career. She is famous for scoring the game-winning goals in the 2010, 2014, and 2022 Olympic finals against the United States. She is widely regarded as one of the best female hockey players of all time and has received many awards and honors for her achievements. She was born in Quebec City in 1991 and started playing hockey at the age of five. She played college hockey at Boston University and professional hockey for Les Canadiennes de Montreal. She is also a player development consultant for the Montreal Canadiens.

Kylie Masse is a Canadian swimmer who specializes in the backstroke events. She is a four-time Olympic medallist, having won two silver medals and two bronze medals at the 2016 and 2020 Games. She is also a two-time world champion and a former world record holder in the 100 m backstroke, which she won in 2017 and 2019. She is the first Canadian woman to become a world champion in swimming and the first to defend her title. She has also won several medals at the Commonwealth Games, the Pan Pacific Championships, and the World University Games. She was born in Windsor, Ontario, on January 18, 1996, and started swimming at the age of five. She attended the University of Toronto, where she was a star athlete and a biochemistry student.

Bianca Andreescu is a Canadian tennis player who has won one Grand Slam title and five WTA titles in her career. She is currently ranked No. 44 in the world by the WTA and is the highest-ranked Canadian in the history of women’s tennis. Andreescu was born in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, in 2000 and started playing tennis at the age of seven. She had a successful junior career, winning the 2019 French Open girls’ singles title. She turned professional in 2017 and had a breakout year in 2019, when she won her first WTA title at the Auckland Open, followed by two Premier Mandatory titles at the Indian Wells Open and the Canadian Open. She also won her first Grand Slam title at the US Open, defeating Serena Williams in straight sets in the final. She became the first Canadian to win a major singles title and the first teenager to win a major since Maria Sharapova in 2006. Andreescu has also represented Canada at various international competitions, such as the Fed Cup, where she has a record of 11–4; the Pan American Games, where she won a gold medal in singles and a silver medal in doubles in 2019; and the Olympic Games, where she competed in Tokyo 2020 but lost in the first round.

Melissa Humana-Paredes is a Canadian beach volleyball player who is partnered with Brandie Wilkerson. She is the reigning world champion and Olympic bronze medalist in beach volleyball, along with her former partner Sarah Pavan. She was born in Toronto, Ontario, on October 10, 1992, and comes from a family of athletes. Her father Hernán was a former volleyball player and coach who helped Canada win a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics. She started playing beach volleyball at the age of 12 and represented Canada internationally since she was 16. She won a silver medal at the 2011 World Junior Championships and two bronze medals at the 2013 and 2014 World Under-23 Championships. She also won three gold medals and one bronze medal at the FIVB Women’s AmeriCup and a gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She made history with Pavan in 2019, when they became the first Canadian beach volleyball team to win the World Championship. They also qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where they won the bronze medal after defeating Switzerland in the third-place match. In 2022, Humana-Paredes switched partners and teamed up with Wilkerson, who is also a world-class beach volleyball player. They are currently ranked fourth in the world by the FIVB and have won two silver medals and one bronze one the World Tour so far.

Clara Hughes is a Canadian cyclist and speed skater who has won six Olympic medals in both summer and winter Games. She is the only Canadian athlete to have achieved this feat and one of the few in the world. She was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on September 27, 1972, and started speed skating at the age of 16. She switched to cycling in 1990 and won two bronze medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She returned to speed skating in 2002 and won four more medals, including gold in the 5000 m event in 2006. She retired from skating in 2010 and from cycling in 2012. She is also an advocate for mental health awareness and a member of the Order of Canada.

Cassie Sharpe is a Canadian freestyle skier who specializes in the halfpipe event. She is the Olympic champion in women’s halfpipe, having won gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. She also won silver at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, sharing the podium with her teammate Rachael Karker. Sharpe has also won two silver and one bronze medal at the World Championships, and four gold, one silver, and two bronze medals at the Winter X Games. She is known for being the first woman to land a switch cork 720 in competition, a trick that involves spinning backwards and flipping twice in the air. Sharpe started skiing at age 11 and competed in various disciplines before focusing on halfpipe.

Jennifer Jones is a Canadian curler who has won many titles and medals in her career. She is the Olympic champion in women’s curling, having led her team to gold at the 2014 Sochi Games with a perfect 11-0 record. She also competed at the 2022 Beijing Games, finishing fifth. She is a two-time world champion, winning in 2008 and 2018, and a six-time national champion, tying the record for most Scotties Tournament of Hearts titles. She has also won nine Grand Slam of Curling events, more than any other female skip. She started curling at age 11 and works as a lawyer when not on the ice.

Joannie Rochette is a Canadian physician and retired figure skater who won the bronze medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. She also won the silver medal at the 2009 World Championships in Los Angeles, USA, and two more silver medals at the 2008 and 2009 Four Continents Championships. She is a six-time Canadian national champion (2005-2010) and a four-time Grand Prix Finalist, winning the bronze medal in 2004. She is known for her powerful and musical skating style, as well as her courage and grace in overcoming the sudden death of her mother two days before her Olympic performance. She started skating at age two and retired from competition in 2013. She then pursued a career in medicine and graduated from McGill University in 2020.

Christine Nesbitt is a Canadian retired long track speed skater who won the gold medal in the 1000 metres event at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. She also won a silver medal in the team pursuit at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. She is a three-time world champion for 1000 metres, a three-time world champion for team pursuit, and a former world record holder for 1000 metres. She started skating at age 12 and switched from short track to long track in 2003. She retired from skating in 2015 and became a physician. She was born in Australia to a Canadian father and an Australian mother.

Jennifer Abel is a Canadian former diver who competed in four Olympic Games and won two medals. She is the Olympic silver medalist in the women’s 3 m synchronized springboard event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she partnered with Mélissa Citrini-Beaulieu. She also won the bronze medal in the same event at the 2012 London Olympics, where she partnered with Émilie Heymans. Abel holds the record for the most medals by a Canadian diver at the world championships, with 10 medals (six silver and four bronze). She is also a four-time Commonwealth Games champion and a three-time Pan American Games champion. She started diving at age 14 and retired in 2021.