The world of super heroes might be the biggest source of entertainment in today’s world, but the closest thing we have to them in real life are the athletes we cheer for every day.
Pulling off feats of athleticism that the average person wouldn’t think was even possible, they really are super at times. So, on International Women’s Day, we thought we’d give 10 Canadian Women, who had super hero-like performances in 2018-19, the super hero treatment.
Here is some cover art and a little background info on our 2018-19 Canadian super heroes:
Kia Nurse
After going 10th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, Kia Nurse finished the 2018 season as the third highest scorer on her team, despite starting only seven games (she came off the bench for the other 27 games). She’ll be a big part of Canada basketball in the future.
Jordyn Huitema
It might not be fair to call 17-year-old Jordyn Huitema a future Canadian soccer star, because she might already be one. With rumours swirling that she may sign with Paris Saint-Germain in May, she has achieved a lot in the last year. She won the Golden Boot as top scorer at the CONCACAF U-20 Women’s Championship and became the first player to score for Canada’s U17 team, U20 team and senior team all in the same year.
Keep an eye out for Jordyn at this year’s Women’s World Cup in France.
Brooke Henderson
Brooke has been a top-10 competitor on the LPGA for a couple years now, but she’s still just 21 years old. In 2019, she already has two top-10 finishes under her belt and in 2018 she became the first Canadian woman to win the Canadian Women’s Open in 45 years.
She’ll look to win her first LPGA major since 2016 in April.
Natalie Achonwa
While Kia Nurse had the hype coming into the 2018 season, it was Natalie Achonwa who was able to carve out a starting role with her WNBA team, the Indiana Fever, and set career highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks per game.
Tessa Virtue
Tessa Virtue may have had the biggest year of any Canadian athlete, securing two gold medals in figure skating, being named the flag bearer for Canada alongside her skating partner Scott Moir and setting an Olympic figure skating record with five medals.
Plus she named a new cast for Blades of Glory 2 (If there ever was one).
Gillian Robertson
After appearing in The Ultimate Fighter in 2017, Gillian Robertson’s UFC career got off to a great start in 2018-19. She won her latest match by submission in the second round at Fight Night 145 and we’re still waiting to see when she’ll fight next. She is 3-1 in her UFC career thus far and at just 23-years-old, could have a bright future ahead of her.
Marie-Philip Poulin
While the Canadian Women’s team didn’t get the result they wanted at the 2018 Winter Olympics, they still finished with a silver medal and the sudden loss overshadowed a big game from Canada’s captain. Poulin’s goal had the Canadians on top of the Americans in the third period of the gold-medal game, until Monique Lamoureux scored with 6:21 left in the third period.
Still a great year for Canada’s captain.
Chelsea Carey
Chelsea Carey and her Alberta curling team stunned all curling fans by stealing a Championship at the 2019 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, upsetting Rachel Homan’s team from Ottawa. After going down 5-1 after four ends, things weren’t looking good, but she led her team back to a shocking victory.
Bianca Andreescu
Bianca Andreescu shot up the charts of the WTA, becoming Canada’s top ranked female tennis player. At the ASB classic, she was able to upset Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams on route to an appearance in the final and at the Australian Open later than month, she won her first main-draw singles match at a Grand Slam. All this and she’s just 18 years old.
Christine Sinclair
Christine Sinclair is one of the greatest soccer players of all time and she helped Canada to a silver medal at the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s Championship. On top of that, she is closing in on the all-time lead in international goals in women’s soccer. She currently trails Abby Wambach by five goals and could catch her at this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.
