Jamie Nye: Christine Sinclair is in a class all by herself

Christine Sinclair is No. 1.

All time, men or women, nobody has more goals in international soccer.

The Canadian icon has scored 185 goals. I don’t think many Canadians truly appreciate where Sinclair should stand in Canadian sports history.

There’s Wayne Gretzky in hockey. Larry Walker in baseball. Steve Nash in basketball. And for soccer, it’s Christine Sinclair.

Her arrival on the scene as a 16-year old occurred as the international team started its climb to a top team: Bronze medals at the Olympics; a fourth-place finish at the World Cup; a high of fourth in the world rankings.

And the most Canadian thing about Sinclair is she won’t brag and shies away from even talking about herself in interviews.

And where the sport is going in Canada is thanks to an icon like Sinclair.

You can see the rise of female elite soccer clubs rise around Canada and the crop for the national team to choose from becomes larger and more talented.

Sinclair is an inspiration for Canadian soccer players and a shining example of leadership, intensity and success.