Some may call hockey the sport of Canada’s men, but the 20 Canadian female hockey players who fought their way to Olympic gold proved that hockey belongs just as much to the women.
The Canadian women’s hockey team, which has often taken a backseat to the glamorised men’s team, didn’t mind being the underdogs to their Canadian counterparts as long as they got to play the sport.
“You know what? It doesn’t matter if the guys get more publicity than us girls,” said 23 year-old Meghan Agosta with her gold medal hanging around her neck. “We play this sport because we love it.”
Women’s hockey officially became a part of the Olympic Games in 1998, while men’s hockey became an official Olympic sport in 1920.
“Women’s hockey is a young sport...,” said IOC President Jacques Rogge. “But no doubt in the future, women’s hockey will be a hit.”
To the young female athletes training in a male dominated sport, Team Canada hockey player Jennifer Botterill advises not to let anyone intimidate them.
“Believe in yourself, because something like this is possible,” Botterill said, fresh off the ice from her gold medal win.
As the women were rewarded for their hard work with gold medals, the men’s team sat up in the stands quietly watching the girls in awe, and maybe making a note or two on how to beat the USA.
By Kimiya Shokoohi, YOG reporter.