The Canadian women captured the bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. (Photo courtesy of Canada Soccer)
The Canada women’s national team that won bronze at the London 2012 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament has been honored by the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in the team category as part of the Class of 2019.
That 2012 side won Canada’s first medal in a Summer Olympic Games team sport since 1936.
The bronze medal team featured Melanie Booth, Candace Chapman, Jonelle Filigno, Robyn Gayle, Christina Julien, Kaylyn Kyle, Karina LeBlanc, Diana Matheson, Erin McLeod, Carmelina Moscato, Marie-Eve Nault, Kelly Parker, Sophie Schmidt, Desiree Scott, Lauren Sesselmann, Christine Sinclair, Chelsea Stewart, Melissa Tancredi, Brittany Timko Baxter, Rhian Wilkinson, and Emily Zurrer. The majority of Canada’s squad, including former head coach John Herdman, were on hand to receive the honor at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. Herdman coaches the Canadian men’s national side.
“The London 2012 Olympic team has gone down in history as a watershed moment for women’s soccer in Canada,” said Steven Reed, Canada Soccer president. “Canada Soccer congratulates the players and the staff from this remarkable team that made history in Canadian sport.”
The most memorable moment to Canada’s London 2012 performance was Diana Matheson’s last-minute winning goal against France in the bronze medal match, a 1-0 victory that ensured Canada’s place on the podium. Sinclair, the team recorded a semifinal hat-trick against rivals U.S. in an epic confrontation at Manchester United’s Old Trafford.
On TSN alone, that Canada-USA semi-final drew a record average audience of 2.4 million viewers, making it the most watched Summer Olympic Games event ever on the Canadian network.
In 2012, coaches and captains from the top 24 nations in the world voted Sinclair as the second-best player in the world. In Canada, she was named Canada Soccer’s Canadian player of the year (she scored a record 23 goals in 22 international matches) as well as the Toronto Star’s Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy winner and Canadian Press’ Bobbie Rosenfeld Award winner.
London 2012 marked Canada Soccer’s second participation at the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament. Four years later, Canada won bronze again at Rio 2016, becoming the first Canadian team to win back-to-back medals at the Summer Olympic Games in more than a century.
