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| Born | (1988-07-07)July 7, 1988 (age 37) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 172 cm (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 72 kg (159 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | W. P. Wagner High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Jennifer "Jen" Kish (born July 7, 1988) is a Canadian formerrugby union player.[1] She was a member ofCanada's women's sevens team that were runners-up at the2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens inRussia.[2] Kish captained the sevens squad from 2012-2016 until she left the centralized program and while still player, she was replaced byGhislaine Landry.[3] She is known for her aerial skills and defence (and her ink[1]). Kish was awarded theMost Influential Athlete of the CAAWS Most Influential Women List of 2016.[4]
Kish's dream of being an elite athlete started at an early age and in Grade 2, she put down "professional athlete" as her future profession[5] Kish started rugby in Grade 10 atW. P. Wagner High School in Edmonton because her football coach was a rugby player and suggested she should try the sport.[6]
Kish typically played flanker and occasionally 8-man.[5] Playing for the province of Alberta at 16, her skills were recognized and she joined the U-19 Team Canada roster.[1] Six months later, at 17, before joining the senior women's team, Kish tattooed theRugby Canada logo on her right calf. She would go on to play in three Nations Cups and the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup.
Kish tried out for the sevens team in 2007, but she was cut after her first tryout .[7] After the 2010 World Cup,John Tait invited Kish to a sevens camp. In 2013, Kish captained Canada to silver at the 2013 Women's Rugby World Cup.[8] Her stellar performance was awarded when she was named the 2013 Sevens Player of the Year, for the second year in a row.
Kish won a gold medal at the2015 Pan American Games as a member of the Canadian women'srugby sevens team.[1][9]
In 2016, she was named to Canada's first ever women's rugby sevens Olympic team, which won the bronze medal at the2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[10]
Her favourite pre-match tune is "Watch Me Rise" byMikky Ekko.[6] Her pregame rituals consist of eating mustard before every game and writing what's important to her on her wrists, particularly "#ruckcancer", in honour of her father Steve, a cancer survivor.[8]
Kish announced her retirement on April 30, 2018, due to injuries that forced her to miss the2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia and recent Canadian appearances on the Sevens world circuit.[8] Upon the end of her sevens career, Kish played in 134 matches and scored 170 points (34 tries).[11]
In 2019, Kish was on the World Rugby Men's Sevens Player of the Year award and the World Rugby Women's Sevens Player of the Year award voting panels.[12]
Kish is openlylesbian.[13] During May 2018, Kish was part of a group of four female athletes, includingCassie Campbell,Fran Rider andKerrin Lee-Gartner to publicly pledge their brain to a Canadian research centre. The posthumous donation shall be made toToronto Western Hospital's Canadian Concussion Centre to further research on the effect of trauma on women's brains.[14]
Kish marriedtwo-spiritMohawk (Six Nations of The Grand River) musicianShawnee in 2021. They were married inEdmonton,Alberta by former PremierRachel Notley.[15]
