Who is she?

Vanessa Gilles is a Canadian soccer player based in Ottawa who represented Canada at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games, scoring key goals in two games this summer.

What’s her background?

Gilles was born in Montreal, but her father’s career in the hotel industry meant her family lived in Shanghai for the first 12 years of her life. Her family then moved to Ottawa where she attended high school.

Gilles started her athletic career with tennis but switched to soccer at age 16. After high school, she moved to the University of Cincinnati on a scholarship where she was coached by Neil Stafford. “You could just see her drive to get better,” he told Capital Current.

Gilles began her professional career in 2017 with Apollon FC in the Cypriot First Division. In 2019, she played her first game for the Canadian national team and in 2020 she made her Olympic debut. That year, the Canadian women’s team won their first Olympic gold medal.

Photo of two women on a soccer field, they are wearing jerseys from opposing teams. The woman on the left has a soccer ball at her feet and is running towards the woman on the right who is defending against her.
Vanessa Gilles, then a University of Cincinnati Bearcat, has control of the ball in a game against the University of Miami. [Photo courtesy University of Cincinnati Athletics]

What is she known for in Ottawa?

Gilles’ success is particularly significant as she is the only Ottawan to win an Olympic soccer gold medal. As a result, in 2021, Vanessa Gilles Park in Gloucester was named in her honour.

Gilles “played hero” for team Canada at this year’s Olympics, according to CBC’s Karissa Donkin. Team Canada was challenged with three must-win games following a cheating scandal and a deduction of six points. Gilles scored the winning goals in the first two, leading the team into the quarterfinals.

What do people say about her?

Stafford, who has coached for more than 25 years, says he has never seen an athlete like Gilles. “I could almost see Vanessa seeing herself scoring. I could see her desire, her will, and things would manifest. I’ve never been around an athlete who had that ability quite the way she did.”

A smiling woman runs towards the camera. She is wearing a red soccer jersey for Team Canada.
Vanessa Gilles playing for Canadian Women’s National Team in a training match against Nigeria on July 17, 2024. [Photo courtesy Canada Soccer]

What’s something people don’t know about her?

Gilles was recruited to the University of Cincinnati by Neil Stafford personally. “I went to Canada on a very, very cold day to watch her play,” he recalls. “I just thought ‘Woah, this girl can really impose herself on the game.’”

Gilles was to be inducted into the University of Cincinnati Hall of Fame on Sept. 20.

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