In the penultimate edition of Checking In With CanWNT, we've got striker Jonelle Filigno. The 22-year-old from Mississauga tells us about heading right back to school after London, her quest to recover from a serious ankle injury in time for the Olympics and what it's like to learn first-hand from Christine Sinclair... and she breaks down her memorable goal against Great Britain.
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You're back at school now, at Rutgers. How have things been going for you since the Olympics ended?
It's actually been pretty cool. Once the Olympics ended, I was fortunate enough to go straight into my Rutgers season at school. Some might see that as a lot of soccer, but I love the sport and I was happy to come back into the season. Now that the season's over, I'm happy that I just get a break from the whole thing, because I was going for a straight six months of intense training.
(The season) just ended about (in the middle of November), so I've had some time to relax now and just kind of enjoy myself a bit before I get started up with the national team again this January.
Have you had some time now to reflect now on the fact that you're an Olympic medalist? Has it fully sunk in?
It has, finally. I think it took a while just because the Canadian team, we've never accomplished anything like that in our history. So for something like that to happen for us is absolutely amazing, and for our country and all our supporters. It did take a while to sink in. I think most of the girls did have the opportunity to celebrate the medal and the win when they got home right after the Olympics. I didn't really have that privilege because I came straight to school.
Now it's my time to let it sink in and enjoy it. I was actually at home last weekend (editor's note: interview recorded Nov. 29). My family just hosted a party for me to celebrate the medal and all that stuff, so it's my time to enjoy the victory.
The holiday season must really be the time to parade the medal around to your friends and family, right?
Yeah, I mean, for the most part everyone has seen it this past week that I've been home. I'm not really the person to wear it out everywhere and promote it like that. But everyone in my family's seen it, and it's such a huge excitement to see that medal in person.
So it's safe to say you're not wearing the medal around on campus?
No, I'm not at all, it's actually not even here with me at school. I don't really feel comfortable having it at school; it's at home with my family.
Going back to the beginning of the year, it was a tough time for you, coming off major ankle surgery, not knowing if the Olympics would be possible. When you saw your team playing the qualifying tournament on home soil, did that give you extra motivation to do what you could to get back to fitness?
Yes, of course... in my head they had already made it through even before the qualifying tournament had begun, because I just expect that of our team. Just watching all the games, and then watching them qualify through, it became more real and I got a bit emotional for two reasons: one, because I was so happy, it's always an accomplishment to go through in a big game, and the other part was just missing that feeling and being out there with the team and being a part of it all.
But it definitely gave me that extra motivation to really get myself going again, knowing that it's real now, and I needed to get back on the team. That was my mind set.
John Herdman said he wasn't going to include you on the Olympic roster as a courtesy, and that he'd only do so if you were fit and could contribute. So how gratifying was it to know that you earned your way onto the Olympic roster, rather than just being handed a spot?
It was absolutely gratifying. I would never want to be a part of a team just being handed a spot. Obviously that's the great thing about it, it's that I earned that, and I know I had three months with the team before the final selection. It was close, I know for a fact it was close. Within the last week, it really came down to the last week of training whether or not I was going to make that final roster.
I actually had a meeting with the coach, before he had made the selection, and it wasn't the best meeting. It came off as a little bit depressing, but it was really supposed to be a meeting that really brought that spark back in me. And so that last week, I just felt all the weight off my shoulders and went out there and played.
I forgot my ankle injury and my mindset was just "go out there and play like you know how to play", and that's what I did for that last week, and that was the outcome. That's how it played out. I snuck through. I'm very fortunate to have been able to make that final roster, but at the same time, I know I'm very deserving of that spot as well.
This was your second Olympic experience; at your first Olympics, you were only a teenager. How different was Beijing versus London, in terms of knowing what to expect on the Olympic stage?
The first time, in Beijing, we qualified for the very first time, so that in itself was the big excitement. The difference was that in Beijing we were so happy just to be there, and then London, we weren't going to settle for just being there. We wanted a medal. The first time, it was awesome to be at the Olympics in Beijing. I was 17 years old, and just to be there was amazing for us. But this time around, we didn't want to settle for an experience, we wanted to go to the end.
Were you surprised to see the way the team's performance seemed to capture fans' imagination back home?
Yeah, and I really think the game against the Americans was such a big reason we had so many people behind us. As much as it sucks, the game against the Americans, I don't think it would have meant as much as us, getting the medal -- obviously getting the medal is so amazing -- but it gave it that extra excitement because we still had felt we were so deserving of that gold medal match.
We weren't home at the time, obviously, but the amount of support that we were getting through emails, through social networks, just from everyone, just hearing people that weren't even from Canada that were there in London, just to see the amount of people we had behind us was absolutely amazing, and it definitely gave us even more motivation to medal at the Games.
The goal you scored against Great Britain in the quarterfinals, I've got to ask: Is that a set play from start to finish, or is that just a magical moment that came together?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOHm9x3VwhI
I wish I could say the ball was supposed to go to me, but it was not. It just happened to land where I was. So yes, it was a magical moment. The service was, I don't know exactly if it was supposed to go front or back post, but it wasn't supposed to come out to me. Thankfully I didn't have a mark on me. I'm not sure if they were marking zonally or what was going on, but my mindset was that I didn't have anyone on me. We had me, Christine and Tancredi were runners, and they only had Tancredi and Sinclair marked at the top.
I believe that it happened for a reason, and I knew, just as it was coming to me, right before I was about to hit it, that it was going to take a little bounce. I hit it and, as it was going, if you watch the replay, I celebrated like a second later, because it literally just snuck in at the last second. It looked like it was going out, then it curved inside of the post at the last second.
As it was happening, I didn't even think it was going in. It was pretty cool, because I've never scored in a big tournament. I've been to Beijing and then Germany for the World Cup and this was my first goal. So it was definitely meaningful to me.
As a striker, what has it been like playing and training alongside a player like Christine Sinclair, and learning from her over the years?
She's just someone that you need out there to be able to gain so much knowledge from, and learn so much more. The things you may think you know, you watch game film and you just pick up so many things. She's such a great player because she's so calm, she keeps the ball, she knows how to finish, she's fast. She does all the right things.
Being a young striker, I've learned so much from her, just watching her play. It's amazing to have someone like that on your team who you can look up to, and have there in person for any advice, any help you need. She's that kind of person.
So are you planning to graduate this year?
I wish. I actually have one more season I'm eligible for. So I'm actually at school for a total of six years, just because I red-shirted because of my knee, first my ACL. And I've taken two semesters off, I believe, with national-team commitments. So I'm there for another year, I'll be graduating in May 2014.
Looking beyond that, with the announcement of the new domestic professional league, is that something that you could see yourself getting involved in?
Yeah, definitely. I'd almost prefer that, I'd definitely prefer that to going overseas, so I'm glad that is here and around, and I'm hoping it lasts by the time I get out of school. That's awesome to me, I'd love to stay in North America and play here after school. I have no desire of quitting anytime soon, I have a lot left to accomplish for myself.
So you will be sticking with the sport and the national team in the years ahead?
Yes, I will definitely be trying for the next Olympics and World Cup, which is hosted in Canada. After that, I'm not really sure, but that's my next goal.
You're still a young player yourself, but when it comes to the national team, you're a young veteran. And now you're at the point where you'll be seeing new players coming in from the youth sides. Are you excited about what some of those players will bring to the senior team?
I know there's so much talent on our youth teams, and it's exciting to know that, because John is someone who loves seeing new faces with talent. He's someone that constantly loves to bring in new players, and really challenge all the players. I know that we have a great future because there's so much talent below us.
If you had to try to sum up 2012, what would you say?
It's definitely been the greatest year in my life up until this point, with the achievements both individually, on a personal level, as well as what the team has accomplished. For myself, it's being able to persevere and come back from injury, and what the team has accomplished in making history is something I've never forget.