47-year-old Canadian curling legend Jennifer Jones: "I feel like I'm playing better than ever"

At the Beijing Winter Olympics, some veterans over 40 years old but still insist on it are awe-inspiring. In the curling arena of the "Ice Cube", there is a 47-year-old "mom" level veteran who attracts attention. She is Jennifer Jones, the captain of the Canadian women's curling team, who says she feels young and has never felt so strong.

The Canadian women's curling team is a traditional team. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Jennifer's team won the gold medal with an unbeaten record, writing a legend. Before the Beijing Winter Olympics, they were considered the top favourites for the event. The women's curling round robin tournament played 12 rounds, and they did not get off to a good start in the first four rounds of preliminaries that ended feb. 12. In addition to the first round bye, it is 1 win and 2 losses in 3 games, temporarily ranking sixth.

Jennifer is a legend in the world of curling. In addition to her titles as a Champion of the Winter Olympics and World Championships, her decision-making, judgment and strike accuracy on the field are rare in the world, and she has many fans. Because of this, at the end of each competition in Beijing, regardless of the results, she will always be the most concerned athlete in the mixed interview area, and also the athlete who is mentioned the most by her opponents.

"Jennifer's team is my favorite team, she's my idol." On February 11, after japan beat Canada, Japanese athlete Yoshida Yukikawa said, "Although we were in the lead in the game, I was always worried that they would overtake." We wouldn't be surprised if Jennifer behaved well, because it was all too common for her. ”

Highly anticipated, the start was dismal, but Jennifer herself did not care. She said she and her teammates had come to enjoy curling and the Winter Olympics.

"No matter how strong a team is, it's very, very difficult to stay unbeaten." Jennifer said some games were lost, but she and her teammates did their best and "I'm proud of the way we finished the game".

Even in the Winter Olympics, which is "admired" by most athletes, Jennifer's mentality has been so good, which is not unrelated to her growth experience.

Jennifer was born into a family of curlers, and both parents were former curlers. She began learning curling at the age of 11, but only made her debut in the world at the age of 31. During the long 20 years, she completed her studies, obtained a double degree in psychology and law, became a lawyer, used her spare time and friends to play curling in clubs, and formed a family with curling world champion Brent Lane.

Growing up in such an environment, although curling is not everything, Jennifer's relationship with curling is obviously not the same as most other athletes.

"I grew up loving curling. Regardless of the grades, I never wanted to leave the sport. Because I just loved it and loved that feeling on the ice. Jennifer said it was all because of her dad, "Dad loves the sport more than anyone, and he taught me all about it." ”

Her father taught her to love curling from the bottom of her heart, while coach Janet taught her how to face top events like the Winter Olympics. Because of this, even if the round robin of the Beijing Winter Olympics started unfavorably, Jennifer still said that she and her teammates were very happy.

"I knew Janet would be proud of us. Because even now, we're smiling, we're happy, we're still enjoying the moment, and no one can take it away from us. Whatever the outcome, we're all going to enjoy the Winter Olympics – that's the biggest thing Janet has taught us. ”

However, the father and the coach, the two people who had the greatest influence on Jennifer, passed away in 2019 after two months. This was a huge blow to Jennifer.

"I miss them very much. How I wish they could come here. Jennifer said with tears in her eyes, "But I feel like they never left." They had such an impact on us that I stepped on the ice again here and felt like they were still with me. ”

On the memory tree in the Beijing Winter Olympic Village, Jennifer tied a ribbon to express her thoughts for her father and coach.

"Standing in front of this tree, I shed tears and said something to my dad. I still remember watching me play at the Sochi Winter Olympics. He tried to build good relationships with all the volunteers so that they could give him the best seat behind our track. At this point, Jennifer burst into tears again.

"This memory tree is really special, especially for a lot of athletes who have lost loved ones. We wouldn't have been here without our families, without their support. Jennifer said.

The death of the two most important people who accompanied her in her curling career did not shake Jennifer's determination to continue to move forward. Although, she is now 47 years old, more than twice the age of many opponents.

Asked about her age, she smiled again and said, "I feel like I'm still young. So, I think it's definitely a great thing to keep going. I feel like I'm playing better than ever. (Hebei Daily reporter Wang Weihong)

Pay attention to Hebei News Network to learn about the latest news in Hebei.