Olympic glory still drives Jones to succeed

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/10/2014 (4345 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Meeting Prince Charles, receiving the Order of Manitoba, rocking the red carpet at the Junos, standing at centre ice of a Jets game and being honoured with a standing ovation. That’s just the way Jennifer Jones rolls these days.

 

In fact, she answerd a text at 6:30 a.m. one morning this week to say, “I’m filming a commercial right now and have a 10-minute break. Want to talk now?”

Life is busy when you’re the greatest on the planet in your sport and have designs on retaining that title.

Jones and her team of Jill Officer, Kaitlyn Lawes and Dawn McEwen went undefeated in Sochi last year to win the Olympic gold medal in women’s curling. Shortly after their return to Canada, they announced they would take a run at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

For Jones, a successful lawyer and mother, it was a major decision. But it was easy to make.

“If we were going to curl together we were going to try and go back to the Olympics,” said the 40-year-old. “We want to get better. That’s what we want to do in sport is to get better and to push the limits. “For us, that’s to see if we can go to South Korea and see what we can do. That’s what’s exciting and that’s what drives us.”

Here’s our chat with Jennifer Jones as she readies for another season on the curling trail:

 

FP: Is it hard to get excited to get ready for another curling season knowing that there is no Olympic trail at the end?

JJ: It’s interesting because you’re never quite sure, and to come off just a big high from last year. We sat down and we decided what we wanted to do and it was so easy because we love playing together. So to be honest, curling this season has been so much fun. We just enjoy each other so much and we have fun on the ice. It feels like we’re continuing where we left off, and we’re trying to get better and that is what has been driving us all along. So it hasn’t been hard to get up for this season at all.

 

FP: What has been different about your life since you won gold in Sochi?

JJ: I thought my life was busy before, and it is so much busier now. It’s amazing because you have so many people come up to you and share their story of what they were doing when we won the Olympic gold medal. It feels like we have had such an impact on people’s lives in Winnipeg. To be remembered in the community and the city we love is incredible. Going to schools and hearing how the kids look up to us and idolize us. It’s surreal. It’s truly special. I still honestly don’t believe that all of this has happened.

 

FP: Is is daunting knowing this is the start of another four-year cycle?

JJ: Yeah. It’s a long journey, a long four years. A lot of sacrifice along the way. You’re busy training and trying to balance family (kids), work and everything. At the end of the day, we’re the best of friends on and off the ice. We enjoy playing together, so curling is easy. I can’t imagine not playing with these girls yet. And when that happens, and you’re ready to walk away to move on to something different, well, that’s not here yet. Right now we love doing what we’re doing.

 

FP: What can you get better at?

JJ: Everything. Always. That’s what sport, and life is all about. What you did yesterday is never going to be good enough for tomorrow. So we’re looking at all aspects of our game and trying to find new ways and nuances we can change to try and get better. Some things will work, some won’t. But that’s what’s exciting.”

 

FP: Where is your gold medal?

JJ: My gold medal is in my bag beside me. It’s usually on me, because I’m still doing a lot of functions, and a lot of people want to see it and I want to share it with everybody, so it pretty much travels with me everywhere I go. Eventually I’ll put it in a safety deposit box.

 

FP: You must have been in a state of awe and shock after Sochi when you first looked at your gold medal. Is that feeling getting fewer and far between since Sochi? How often do you feel that way?

JJ: Every single time I pull it out of the box. I just can’t believe that it’s mine. I honestly feel so privileged and honoured to be able to have an Olympic gold medal. For our team, this is incredible, and I really don’t think it has sunk in yet. I truly don’t think it will sink in until the next Olympics. Or even the Summer Olympics, when we’re watching the Games. You can put yourself back in that moment. We were at the Olympic games and we went out there and we got to stand up on the podium. So I still stare at it in awe. It is absolutely beautiful and is truly my most prized possession.

 

FP: Has winning a gold medal been financially lucrative?

JJ: No, not really. We have had a lot of opportunities but it’s not for financial gains. We received the Order of Manitoba, and to meet the Prince and go to the Junos, it was incredible. So it hasn’t been necessarily lucrative, but we have experienced a lot of memories that we will cherish forever.

 

FP: How long did it take to decide to do this again? When did you decide to tell your teammates ‘I want to go again’?

JJ: We were talking around the time of the Players’ Championships last year and essentially we kind of had to make a decision because if we weren’t all going to go and if someone wanted to go on, we wanted to ensure that they could find a team to play on. We put it out there for people to think about it and for them to talk to their families (it’s important to us to make sure families are on board). Jill and I have young families and we wanted to ensure we could achieve a balance that we’re happy with. We sat back and reflected, and honestly it was a pretty easy decision for all of us, and it all goes back to our team dynamics. If we didn’t have that, I don’t think we would be here today. It’s really easy to play with this team. We have fun and it really doesn’t take a lot of energy and we want to make each other better. And that’s one of the most unbelievable things I have been a part of.

 

FP: What has been the best moment or thing since you came back from Sochi?

JJ: Absolutely everything. The excitement around the city has been a true highlight for us. The ovation we got at the Jets game, and the Junos, it has all been incredible. The Bombers and the Goldeyes honoured us. To receive the Order of Manitoba was truly a life honour. We love being from Manitoba. We love representing Manitoba. To come back to the city and to have all these people have so much joy out of what we achieved has been incredible.

To have all of these kids look up to us. You have to pinch yourself, I can’t believe we’re in that position. To set out four years ago with a goal, a dream and to do everything possible to achieve that dream and to have it come true. You can’t really describe it, I can’t believe it happened. At the end of the day we always say “We can’t believe that happened” but that’s what we worked toward… to have it actually come true, it’s hard to believe.

 

FP: Will you be disappointed if in four years from now it’s not you ?

JJ: No. Obviously there will be a bit of disappointment, but no. We have achieved more than I could ever dream possible and we did it in such a joyful way. We enjoyed every moment of those Olympic Games. We enjoyed the experience in Sochi. And if that’s the only Olympic experience that we have, we will treasure it forever. I would not change a thing. Regardless of the outcome, we embodied the Olympics and did everything we ever dreamed of doing.

 

FP: Regardless of where you go, the journey is still great for team Jen Jones?

JJ: It is. What we’ve heard is that once you come from the Olympics, it’s hard to go back to the regular curling life. But for us it hasn’t been. We’ve gone to all of the events and we’ve had so much joy doing it already. And we get to compete in all of these big events and so it’s joyful. We’re doing what we love to do with people that we love to do it with. To be honest, there hasn’t been a letdown from the Olympics, it’s such a big part of your life that you feel you’re still living the Olympics. You feel like you’re still on that ride. It’s unbelievable.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @garylawless