Next thing you know, I’m big in Japan

February 10, 2020
Sports NewsOlympic Sports
Next thing you know, I’m big in Japan

The GIST: This weekend, Team Canada qualified for not one, but two huge spots at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, and TBH, we can’t say we’re surprised.

Explain, please!: You got it. First, our women’s national soccer team clinched an Olympic spot by winning their semifinal match in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament (reminder: the top two teams in the tournament qualify for Tokyo 2020). They beat Costa Rica 1–0, with our fave 18-year-old Jordyn Huitema (pronounced HEIGHT-AH-MA) scoring the game’s lone goal. It wasn’t much, but it was enough!

  • That set the stage for the CONCACAF final yesterday, where we were treated to our favourite thing ever: a Canada-USA final. Although the Americans took it 3–0 and get to keep the bragging rights for now, we’ll hopefully see them for a rematch in Tokyo.

And the other Olympic spot?: Over in Belgium, our Canadian women’s basketball team was playing in a FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament. All they had to do was win two of their three games to qualify, but like the absolute queens they are, they swept the tournament, dominating their games against Belgium, Sweden and Japan.

  • Canada’s currently ranked No. 4 in the world, and after this strong showing, we’re thinking this crew could bring home some serious Olympic hardware.