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By the numbers: Christine Sinclair's 21-year Team Canada soccer career

Ahead of her first-ever Olympic finals appearance, here are some of the defining numbers from the Canadian captain's soccer journey.

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Finally, in her fourth Olympic appearance, Canadian soccer legend Christine Sinclair will be playing in her first Olympic finals this Friday.

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The 38-year-old team captain leads the Canadian women’s soccer team into their first-ever gold medal match after an incredible upset over the U.S women’s team in semi-finals.

Sinclair, born in Burnaby, B.C, is one of Canada’s most celebrated athletes, winning the Lou Marsh Trophy as the athlete of the year and the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as the female athlete of the year in 2012. She was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2013 and appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2017.

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Sinclair is perhaps best known for being the all-time leader for international goals scored for both men and women, with 187 goals.

Here are some other defining numbers from the Canadian soccer great’s career.

12: Sinclair’s jersey number is 12, as a tribute to former Toronto Blue Jays’ Hall of Famer, Roberto Alomar.

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21 years: 21 years ago, Sinclair debuted with Canada’s senior national team at 16 at the 2000 Algarve Cup, where she scored three goals.

300 caps: A cap is an appearance at an international-level game. Sinclair is one of the most-capped soccer players in the world, having appeared at 300 international games.

6 goals: At the London 2012 Summer Games, Sinclair broke the record of most goals scored in an Olympic women’s soccer game after scoring two against South Africa, one against Great Britain and a hat-trick against the United States in the infamous semifinal, for a total of six goals.

Canada’s forward Christine Sinclair celebrates scoring her second goal during the London 2012 Olympic women’s football semi final match between the US and Canada at Old Trafford in Manchester, north-west England, on August 6, 2012.
Canada’s forward Christine Sinclair celebrates scoring her second goal during the London 2012 Olympic women’s football semi final match between the US and Canada at Old Trafford in Manchester, north-west England, on August 6, 2012. Photo by PAUL ELLIS /AFP via Getty Images

4 Olympic appearances: Sinclair has represented Canada at Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

2 (now 3?) Olympic medals: Canada picked up bronze medals at London 2012 and Rio 2016, but will they be able to upgrade the colour to gold in Tokyo 2020?

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5 FIFA Women’s World Cups: Sinclair has represented Canada five times at one of the biggest international soccer tournaments, playing in USA 2003, China 2007, Germany 2011, Canada 2015 and France 2019.

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 19: Captain and winning goalscorer Christine Sinclair of Canada celebrates with her medal following her teams victory during the Women’s Olympic Football Bronze Medal match between Brazil and Canada at Arena Corinthians on August 19, 2016 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 19: Captain and winning goalscorer Christine Sinclair of Canada celebrates with her medal following her teams victory during the Women’s Olympic Football Bronze Medal match between Brazil and Canada at Arena Corinthians on August 19, 2016 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Alexandre Schneider /Getty Images

4 professional championships: Along with her international career, Sinclair has played in the Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) league since 2008 for three teams: FC Gold Pride, Western New York Flash and Portland Thorns FC. She won the WPS Championships in 2010 with Gold Pride, the 2011 WPS Championships with New York and the 2013 and 2017 championships with Portland.

14 Canada Soccer Player of the Year awards: The team captain has won Canada Soccer’s Women’s Player of the Year Award in 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2018.

7 shortlists for FIFA World Player of the Year: Sinclair was nominated for the prestigious distinction in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2016, but has unfortunately never won.

Canada plays Sweden in the gold medal match, happening Friday morning at 11 a.m. in Japan, Thursday night 10 p.m. EST in Canada. Unless it is rescheduled, as both teams asked for earlier this week.

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