JESSICA GAUDREAULT
Sport: Water Polo
Event: Women’s
Age: 30 (as of July 18)
Hometown: Ottawa
Residence: Montreal
Local Club: Capital Wave
First Olympics
Instagram: @godrowjess
VIEW JESSICA’S COMPETITION SCHEDULE HERE.
By Jackson Starr
It has been a long and winding road to the Olympics for Ottawa’s Jessica Gaudreault.
The 29-year-old Canadian water polo goalkeeper (who will hit 30 on July 18) is entering her second Olympic Games, but first as a starter, after serving as an alternate for the Tokyo Games in 2021.
Gaudreault had played a majority of Canada’s games in goal in the lead-up to Tokyo, which left her looking for answers after the surprising news that she wasn’t chosen for either of the two goalie spots on the Olympic roster.
“After Tokyo, I just had to really reevaluate,” reflects Gaudreault, “and decide that I had to take my game to the next level to make sure that those types of decisions were never made again, and that I was playing all the games, because as a competitive athlete, honestly, that’s what you want.”
Following the Tokyo Games, Gaudreault joined the University of Michigan as an assistant coach and played overseas in Spain, which proved highly beneficial.
“I went and found the right training environment that was going to bring me there,” recounts the Indiana University biology grad. “That really helped in my development, since I had never competed or trained in that type of environment. I think it just really gave me a different perspective and edge.”
Earning a spot on the Canadian team was one thing, and qualifying for the Olympics was another. The second part of the equation wound up being just as much of a rollercoaster ride as the first.
With strong performances early at the 2023 Pan American Games and 2024 World Aquatics Championships, Canada gave itself a chance to qualify for Paris 2024 on four occasions, but lost each match – to USA in the Pan Am final, to Spain in the world quarterfinal, to Australia in the 5-8 classification semi-final and to Italy in the seventh-place game.
However, only a few hours later, it was announced that 14th-place South Africa had decided to forfeit its African Olympic qualification position and that Canada would receive a ticket to the Games as the highest-ranked non-qualified team.
Gaudreault says that while there had been some prior discussion about the possibility of South Africa dropping out, there was still concern in the lead up to that announcement.
“There had been some rumours during the tournament,” recalls the Ottawa Titans/Capital Wave product. “We were kind of in limbo. For some of us, it was maybe the last time we would be playing together. I’ve played with some of these girls for almost 10 years, so it was hard to think about that part, but we just kept our hopes up.
“Luckily, we only had to wait a few hours before we were told that South Africa pulled out, so that was good.”
The ups-and-downs continued when a fire in March forced the closure of the team’s training centre at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The team had to find pool time elsewhere, including the Claude-Robillard facility farther north and outdoors at Parc Jean-Drapeau.
Gaudreault says that the adversity she’s experienced personally and as a team has strengthened them to face different challenges as they come.
“We kind of joke around that we’re kind of like experts at adapting,” Gaudreault indicates. “The girls that I’ve played with for a really long time, we’ve adapted through coaching changes, through tactic changes, through all these things and now that we’re nearing the end potentially of playing with certain people, we just…know how to deal with all these challenges that get thrown at us, and we’re really good at adapting.”
With a pool to train in and a flight to Paris booked, Gaudreault says she is ready for the next challenge.
“I’m really looking forward to playing in front of the crowd and to having my family there,” underlines Gaudreault. “That’s really exciting, to represent them and our country. My goal is to play the best that I can, that I know I can for sure, and to support my team as much as I can in getting our best result.”
Gaudreault’s supporters contributed to a raucous atmosphere back when Toronto hosted the 2015 Pan Am Games, and they’ll be there again in Paris, set to make the goalkeeper feel anything but lonely.
“I’ll have a cheering squad of 15 in Paris, so it’s really awesome,” smiles Gaudreault, who kept in shape at her parents’ gym back home in Barrhaven at the start of COVID. “They’ve been my rock and have really supported a lot of the decisions and sacrifices I’ve made.
“They’ve never really questioned when I’m like, ‘yeah, I can’t make this birthday’ or ‘I can’t make this celebration,’ they’ve always been really supportive.”
Even though her family will be in attendance, and the audience will be larger, Gaudreault says she still wants to treat the Olympic games like those she has experienced throughout her career.
“Obviously the Olympics has a lot of weight and hype around it,” signals Gaudreault, who has represented Canada at every senior world championships since her debut in 2015. “But it’s definitely just like any other tournament. Just like a World Championships, a Pan Am Games. Every game is like a final – treat every game like that, just the stage is a lot bigger.
“It’ll be really exciting. I look forward to playing in front of a lot of people.”
At the last World Championships, Canada finished behind seven of the 10 teams participating in the Olympic tournament, making them an underdog going in to Paris. Gaudreault says that’s just another challenge the team is ready to take on.
“I feel like we’re progressing in the right direction,” she highlights. ”The qualification (was) a little bit difficult to take, but we’ve had really good training camps and prep games, so I’m feeling pretty good.”
COMPETITION SCHEDULE:
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