Stephanie Labbe, whose safe hands helped Canada to Olympic womenB次元官网网址檚 soccer gold in Tokyo last summer, has announced her retirement.
The shock news comes just two days after Labbe finished runner-up for The Best FIFA WomenB次元官网网址檚 Goalkeeper.
The 35-year-old from Stony Plain, Alta., who started the season with SwedenB次元官网网址檚 FC Rosengard before transferring to Paris Saint-Germain in late August, was beaten out for the FIFA award by ChileB次元官网网址檚 Christiane Endler (Paris Saint-Germain/Olympique Lyonnais).
Labbe says she has left PSG and will call it quits this spring after the second half of the Canadian womenB次元官网网址檚 so-called B次元官网网址淐elebration Tour.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭hat will be my official sendoff with the national team,B次元官网网址� said Labbe, who has won 85 caps for Canada, with 43 clean sheets.
Labbe said she had been thinking about her future for some time, with a decision coming in late November.
B次元官网网址淗onestly I woke up one day and it just hit me B次元官网网址� I just knew in my heart that it was time,B次元官网网址� she said in an interview. B次元官网网址淚 feel so confident in that, I feel so ready for whatB次元官网网址檚 next.
B次元官网网址淚 really truly feel at this point that IB次元官网网址檝e given everything to the game and IB次元官网网址檝e invested my heart and soul into it and I just donB次元官网网址檛 feel that I have anything left. And I feel so great about that. I really feel like IB次元官网网址檝e left everything out there. I couldnB次元官网网址檛 have asked for a better moment than to have finished my career on an Olympic gold medal and signing for one of the top clubs in the world.B次元官网网址�
A rib injury forced Labbe out of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 opening game against host Japan at the Olympics. But she returned after missing one game, albeit playing in pain.
The Canadian No. 1 became an iconic figure in Tokyo B次元官网网址� grinning in goal during pressure-packed penalty shootout wins over Brazil and Sweden.
While she still loves the game, Labbe says she no longer felt B次元官网网址渢hat drive to want to go to training in order to really push herself to the maximum.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淎nd for me, IB次元官网网址檝e never been the type to do things half-ass.B次元官网网址�
Plus, a spark was missing. She said the B次元官网网址渞ush of excitementB次元官网网址� stepping on the field was fading.
She leaves the Canadian goal in good hands with Erin McLeod (119 caps), Kailen Sheridan (16) and Sabrina DB次元官网网址橝ngelo (eight) B次元官网网址� with Anna Karpenko, Rylee Foster and Devon Kerr among those waiting in the wings.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a bright, bright future for this team,B次元官网网址� said Labbe. B次元官网网址淚 have no doubt about that. IB次元官网网址檓 super-excited to watch them all continue to grow and flourish. And IB次元官网网址檓 going to be their biggest cheerleader, their biggest support system.B次元官网网址�
Labbe has also won praise for opening up about mental health, detailing difficult times in 2012, after the 2016 Rio Olympics and during the Tokyo Games.
In 2012, she stepped away from the national team to focus on her club career rather than stress about her place in the Canadian pecking order. That meant missing the London Olympics, where Canada won bronze.
After winning bronze at the 2016 Rio Games, the Olympic medal began to weigh her down with Labbe feeling people were more interested in it than her. In September 2017, the Washington Spirit announced Labbe was taking a medical leave for the remainder of the NWSL season.
More recently, Labbe said she could not train for part of the Tokyo Games because of B次元官网网址渉igh levels of anxiety and multiple panic attacks.B次元官网网址�
She detailed the challenges she faced in a September essay titled B次元官网网址淲inning the Olympics isnB次元官网网址檛 enough to cure mental healthB次元官网网址� to help publicize FIFPROB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淎re You Ready To TalkB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� a mental health awareness program from the organization representing 65,000 pro footballers worldwide.
B次元官网网址淚 had no idea that this injury would trigger an underlying vulnerability in my mental state,B次元官网网址� Labbe wrote. B次元官网网址淢y adrenalin was so heightened, and my neuromuscular system was so finely tuned that I struggled to come down between games, which resulted in high levels of anxiety and multiple panic attacks. It got to the point where I couldnB次元官网网址檛 train between the quarters (quarterfinals) and the final because I was so overstimulated.B次元官网网址�
Labbe said she B次元官网网址渂asically spent the 48 hours following the final lying in a dark room.B次元官网网址�
At PSG, Labbe had been sharing goalkeeping duties with Germany Charlotte Voll and the Czech RepublicB次元官网网址檚 Barbora Votikova. Her last game was Dec. 16, a 6-0 win over IcelandB次元官网网址檚 Breidablik in UEFA Champions League group play.
Labbe is scheduled to return to Canada on Thursday with her fiancee, former Olympian Georgia Simmerling, and their dog Rio.
B次元官网网址淚 know I want to continue to push the game forward in Canada,B次元官网网址� Labbe said. B次元官网网址淚 want to, of course, continue to be a voice and push for a professional league in Canada on the womenB次元官网网址檚 side. I want to stay in the game in different ways, to continue to inspire young girls to stay in sport, to stay playing soccer.
B次元官网网址淚 have a piece of my heart where I want to continue to get more Alberta girls on the national team. ThereB次元官网网址檚 been few and far between over the years.B次元官网网址�
Home is always close to her heart.
LabbeB次元官网网址檚 right arm, from shoulder to elbow, is a tattooed tribute to her native Alberta.
The ink depicts the Rocky Mountains B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址渕y happy placeB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� and spruce trees. A compass pointing north shows she is from northern Alberta. A wild rose, AlbertaB次元官网网址檚 provincial flower, is coiled around an anchor that reminds her to be grounded and know where youB次元官网网址檙e from. Below a quote, B次元官网网址淏e You Bravely,B次元官网网址� provides words to live by.
The word B次元官网网址淔reeB次元官网网址� is inked on her wrist. She calls it a reminder B次元官网网址渢hat when IB次元官网网址檓 at my best, IB次元官网网址檓 free and IB次元官网网址檓 not thinking, IB次元官网网址檓 just able to be me and IB次元官网网址檓 just free.B次元官网网址�
Labbe says she will take her time choosing her next adventure.
B次元官网网址淔irst and foremost, I want to enjoy these last couple of months of national team activity,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淛ust really take the time to reflect and be proud of what IB次元官网网址檝e been able to accomplish B次元官网网址� But IB次元官网网址檓 also really confident that opportunities will come and things will be there for me on the other side.
B次元官网网址淏ut right now I just want to enjoy this moment with my friends. my family, with the national team and have a proper celebration this spring.B次元官网网址�
Starting a family with Simmerling down the line is also on the cards, with the couple looking at a wedding in the summer of 2023.
Simmerling made history at Rio 2016 by becoming the first Canadian athlete to compete in a different sport at each of three different Olympic Games. She made her Olympic debut in alpine skiing at Vancouver 2010, competed in ski cross in Sochi in 2014 and track cyclingB次元官网网址檚 team pursuit at both the Rio and Tokyo Games.
Simmerling retired after Tokyo, where her team pursuit squad finished fourth in Canadian-record time.
Labbe played collegiate soccer at the University of Connecticut, starting her professional career in 2009 in Sweden, playing for Pitea IF and then KIF Orebro DFF before returning to North America in 2014 to join Washington.
In March 2018, she signed for the Calgary Foothills, a menB次元官网网址檚 team. But league rules prevented her from playing.
Labbe joined SwedenB次元官网网址檚 Linkopings FC before returning to the U.S. to join the North Carolina Courage, winning the NWSL championship in 2019.
B次元官网网址� Neil Davidson THE CANADIAN PRESS
