Olympian’s mom misses magic goal

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This article was published 10/08/2012 (5001 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WHAT should have been a proud-mamma moment turned into frustration for a Winnipeg mother when a power outage disabled her TV as she watched her daughter, Desiree Scott, chase an Olympic medal.

Charlene Gusberti was on the edge of her seat in her West Kildonan home when, suddenly, there was nothing to watch.

“We were halfway through the game. We were at halftime and the TV went blank,” she said.

Her daughter and other members of the Canadian women’s soccer squad were battling France Thursday and won a dramatic 1-0 victory Gusberti, sadly, never got to see live.

The power outage, around 7:45 a.m., took out the phone lines too, so she frantically called her son on her cellphone, asking for updates.

“I thought she was joking when she called,” said Nick Scott, Gusberti’s son.

When the Canadian team scored, he called his mom to say it looked like they were going to get the bronze.

“He called and said, ‘Mom, they’re going to win.’ “

Soon after, the power came back on and Gusberti saw the Canadian women’s soccer team celebrating their victory.

The setback hasn’t dampened Gusberti’s spirits. She said she couldn’t be more proud of her daughter, a former University of Manitoba Bison soccer player and coach.

“It feels wonderful. She’s worked so hard and she deserves it,” Gusberti said.

She’s spoken to her daughter twice since her bronze medal victory.

“She was crying and laughing,” she said. “She said it was a tough game and that France played really well.”

Nick said he’s still on a high from his sister’s win.

“Watching her up there on the podium was exhilarating,” he said.

Gusberti has yet to see the game in full, which her son, thank goodness, taped for her.

Scott comes home to Winnipeg on Monday, they said.

About 7,300 homes were affected by the outage in the area between Leila Avenue and Inkster Boulevard and between Scotia Street and Pipeline Road. The outage happened when a garbage truck hit a wire and brought down a hydro pole, said Manitoba Hydro spokesman Scott Powell. Hydro workers had to de-energize the line while they were fixing the problem.

jennifer.ford@freepress.mb.ca