2024 PARIS OLYMPICS: Cathy Freeman inspired Matildas ace Cortnee Vine’s dream

Little girls all over Australia want to be Cortnee Vine after her ice-cool penalty kick to send the Matildas through to the semifinals of the World Cup last year, but when Cortnee Vine was a little girl, she wanted to be Cathy Freeman.

As a child Vine thought athletics would be her path to the Olympic Games, but as it turned out, football will be her ticket to the Paris Games next month. Among the Matildas, there is no-one more passionate about being an Olympian than the Sydney FC winger.

“The Olympics is my one thing that I’ve always wanted to be part of, probably more than the World Cup,’’ Vine said.

“Back when I was younger, that was my thing. I’ve watched Cathy Freeman, I’ve watched the 2000 Olympics (Vine was just two when the Games were held in Sydney) and I just thought that was something I wanted to do. And to get told I was doing it, I shed a tear, I was very, very thrilled.”

Her fascination with the Olympics began when she watched video of Freeman and the Sydney Games. As a pre-teen, she was a promising sprinter-hurdler-jumper, combining athletics in the summer, with soccer in the winter. She played in a boys’ team with her older brother Jayden until she was 15.

Her mother Heidi Vine recalls she was self-motivated from the age of seven, when she joined Little Athletics.

“She was the one dragging us to these places,’’ Heidi said.

“She was very good at running, sprinting, jumping. She competed at (Little Athletics) State championships and came third in the (70m) sprint. We used to call her Skip, because she was tiny, but she could jump 1.25m in the high jump.”

“She would get hurdles and take them away with us when we went camping, she would borrow them for a week, and she’d be practising on the oval with her friends. She had set routines, stretches and over the hurdles. She’s always been quite precise with how she warms up.’’

At 10, Vine put a list of her sporting goals on the back of her bedroom door in Brisbane (it’s still there). The list was updated over the years but became soccer-focussed when she was invited to join the Queensland Academy of Sport at 15. The demands of soccer training forced her to let athletics go. But she never let her Olympic dream go.

The nine goals on her famous list include: becoming a starter in the A-League Women; becoming a Matilda; getting a Nike or Adidas sponsorship; going to a World Cup; and going to the Olympics.

She ticked off goal No.7 with her Olympic selection earlier this month. Now there are only two left — to play for Chelsea and become the best player in the world.

She hadn’t achieved any of those goals when she was recruited to Sydney FC by coach Ante Juric four years ago. Juric had noticed Vine as a teenager and when he was casting around for players who had been overlooked at other clubs, his thoughts went to Vine, then playing at the Western Sydney Wanderers.

“She didn’t start regularly there, and they played her more as a 9 (centre-forward),’’ he recalled. “Position-wise, I didn’t think she was an out and out 9, and technically she wasn’t at her best. She needed to be better at finishing, and first touches, and dribbling, and we were confident we could help her with that. But she was quick — freakishly quick — and you can’t teach that.’’

After years as a bit-player with successive clubs, Vine also lacked some self-belief.

“We gave her time to make mistakes and it’s allowed her to grow,’’ Juric said.

“She’s got heaps better technically. She knew what was required and she worked hard. You can see she’s stronger and she stands taller. She deserves everything she gets.’’

In the last month that has been quite a lot. She’s been selected for the Olympics, her portrait has been hung in the Art Gallery of NSW as part of the Archibald Prize exhibition, and it’s been announced that she will move to the US later in the year, to play in the National Women’s Soccer League.

But for now, she remains focussed on her long-held Olympic ambition. The Matildas will play their first match against World No. 4 Germany in Marseille on July 25, the day before the opening ceremony.

In the absence of the injured star Sam Kerr, Australian coach Tony Gustavsson has indicated he may use 26-year-old Vine not only on the wing, but in the centre of his attack.

She’s already working on her combination with lethal striker Michelle Heyman (back from retirement).

“I’m happy to play anywhere,’’ Vine said.

“My strength is my speed. Nine is harder, because you have to finish what you get. If I am going to be playing there, and even as a winger, I need to work on a few things.”

Her athletics background nurtured the speed that makes her dangerous in attack, but she also reads the game well. In the friendly match against China in Sydney two weeks ago, she created the winning goal by swooping on a loose ball and sending a perfectly-timed pass through the Chinese defence for Hayley Raso to score.

After the Olympics, Vine will join the trophy-laden North Carolina Courage in the NWSL on a three-year deal.

“We are thrilled to add Cortnee to our club,’’ Courage head coach Sean Nahas said after this week’s announcement. “She has great international experience and can come in and instantly help us day in and day out. She has a very high soccer IQ and always looks to threaten in the final third. She’s an explosive player both on and off the ball and will fit in perfectly with our style of play.’’

Kerr converted a star turn in the NWSL into a Chelsea contract, so Vine could be following a marked path to No.8 on her list of dreams.