‘So proud of our team’: Sask. Olympic medallist reflects on Games

It may not have been the experience they were all expecting, but Jennifer Gilbert said the Olympic Games in Tokyo were a dream come true.

Gilbert won a bronze medal with Canada’s women’s softball team and is the only athlete listed as being from Saskatchewan who brought home a medal. She was born in the province but her family moved to Texas when she was very young, and that’s where she currently lives.

“It was an absolute dream come true and it’s just so surreal. I remember we kind of got back home and I see the Olympics on TV and I was like, ‘Wow, I was just there,’ ” Gilbert said with a laugh.

Every athlete goes into the Games wanting gold, said Gilbert.

“We went in there, we exhausted every single option, we trained our absolute butts off. I’m so proud of this team. Every single one of us was in it for the long haul. We sacrificed so much to do what we were able to do,” said Gilbert.

“I have absolutely no regrets and I’m just so, so proud of our team and our program.”

Gilbert said their toughest competition was the U.S. and Japan, but all of the games had incredibly close scores.

“Every single game it was just, the pitchers did so well, (the) hitters kind of got hits when they could, but every single game was really, really close,” Gilbert said.

After her team won the bronze-medal game, Gilbert said the players and coaches had some time to be on the field and take pictures and call people – she FaceTimed her mom.

“I showed her the medal on FaceTime and she just started crying and then I started crying and it was so, so emotional. But yeah, it was just a special moment that I got to share with her,” explained Gilbert.

There won’t be a repeat for Gilbert in 2024 because softball won’t be in the Games in Paris. She said that decision was frustrating and disappointing.

“That hurts our sport. Our sport loses talent that way … It hinders our sport from growing beyond the countries (where it has) a little bit more popularity,” said Gilbert.

She said they’re all hoping the sport will be back for the Games in Los Angeles in 2028. But even without the Olympics,

Gilbert said softball is a robust and competitive sport with high-level college leagues and professional leagues in other countries.