Sarah Nurse on the Olympics, her message for young athletes, who the best athlete in her family is and more
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About that heartbreaking loss to the U.S. at the 2026 Olympic women’s hockey final last month, Sarah Nurse says, “that was the most fun I’ve had in a hockey game in a very long time.”
The Canadian team lost 2-1 in overtime when American defender Megan Keller scored the winner four minutes and seven seconds into extra time, giving the U.S. its third gold medal after victories in 1998 and 2018.
Nurse, 31, a star forward for the Vancouver Goldeneyes of the Professional Women’s Hockey League picked up a silver medal in Italy to go with the gold she won at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, China and a silver at the PyeongChang 2018 Games in South Korea.
CBC Hamilton spoke with Nurse about how, a few weeks later, she views the loss to the U.S., how she supported younger teammates through defeat, her message to young athletes in Hamilton and which member of her extraordinary family is the best athlete.
Here’s an abridged and edited interview she did with CBC Hamilton on March 11.
Hamilton’s Sarah Nurse spoke with CBC Hamilton about the heartbreaking loss to the U.S. at the Olympics in February, how she helped younger teammates during the tournament, which of her talented family members is the best athlete and more.
How are you feeling now that it’s been a few weeks since the gold medal game?
Obviously, the game wasn’t the result that we wanted, but playing in that game was so much fun and I think that’s what I feel coming out of that game. That was the most fun I’ve had in a hockey game in a very long time.
Coming back, there wasn’t a lot of downtime. We’ve gotten right back into our season, and so we’ve played a couple games. We’ve been practicing. We’ve been doing a bunch of events here in Vancouver. So, there hasn’t been much time to really dwell on, you know, getting a silver medal but I think it’s been a great opportunity for us to continue to elevate the game of women’s hockey and, I think we’ve been doing a great job of that.
You’re already a gold medal winner. As a veteran, how did you support younger teammates after the loss?
Going into my third Olympics, I had a gold and silver medal under my belt already. I know, kind of, the feelings that go into being in your first Olympics and going into a gold medal game, [which is] unlike any feeling that you’ve ever had in the world. You think that you’re so prepared — obviously you’ve played this game your whole life — but the amount of buzz and media and obviously your dreams are in that one game.
And so, I just tried to make sure that I was providing perspective of: “Hey, I’ve been there. I totally know what you’re going through. It’s OK to be nervous. It’s OK to be anxious, and it’s OK to feel all of those emotions because, if you don’t, if you try to push them down, we’re not going to be our best selves.”
I think our whole group just encouraged our young ones — who are very, very good, they’re very skilled and they’re going to be very good for a long time — to really feel all of those emotions and, it was definitely difficult because obviously you want to win a gold medal for your teammates and, and everybody wants to go home with one.
I understand that the experience that our team was able to gain is going to be something that’s going to fuel and motivate the group moving forward. And so, I think that it was just excellent to be there with our team and see the way that we battled in that final game.
What did you think of the American women’s team choosing not to go to the White House like the men’s team did after their victory?
I hope that they feel supported by their community and their country, because it’s always such a privilege to come home with a gold medal. So I just hope that that group feels very supported.
You were recovering from a serious arm injury. How did your arm hold up during the Olympics?
Good. Yeah. When you play hockey, nobody goes through a whole season going unscathed. And so, I think we did a great job of management and I was able to come in and play at an Olympic Games, which I was very proud of.
What message do you have for young athletes in Hamilton and across Canada?
I guess first of all, thank you. I feel like I have a lot of appreciation for supporters who are willing to follow the stories of people and athletes. And so, to be able to see that is pretty amazing. I really think that at the end of the day if you put your mind to something, and you really want something, your dreams are going to happen one way or another.
I remember speaking to a woman that I knew, and she had always had this dream to go to the Olympics, and she never made it as a player. But, then she made it as a coach. And so your dream may not show up the way that you expect it to, but if you really, really want something, it’s going to show up one day.
And so hard work, perseverance, resilience are all super important skills to be able to get you to where you want to be.
Your family might be the greatest family of athletes in Canadian history with you, cousin Darnell with the Edmonton Oilers, your parents, your cousin Kia in the WNBA, your uncle Donovan McNabb, a former star quarterback in the NFL, among others. Who is the best athlete in the Nurse/McNabb families?
I think it’s cool because we all do something different. So, I feel like we all can make a case for ourselves. But I think if I were to say all-around athlete, I’d probably say Kia.
She was probably the one that we were all trying to keep up with. I feel like she could do probably anything except hockey, so I don’t know if that weights it a certain way, but I think Kia is pretty, pretty fierce and she’s competitive.
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