Fantasy Becomes Reality in Gabi Rennie's Miraculous Olympic Moment

When Gabi Rennie went home to New Zealand this summer after a COVID-infused year at Indiana, she never expected that a quick getaway would result in an unbelievable Olympic moment for the women's soccer player. It's a story that even the best fiction writers couldn't make up.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – There's nothing better than the Olympics as a stage for too-good-to-be-true stories. When something amazing happens, it's there for all the world to see.

And sometimes, a story is so good that you couldn't even make something up that even compares. Fantasy is one thing, but reality always trumps all.

Gabi Rennie can tell you that's all very true.

Rennie, a 20-year-old New Zealand native who plays women's soccer at Indiana, had a stunning summer that came out of nowhere and culminated in Olympic fame and glory for a brief and magical moment. Ever single step of her journey this summer had that ''is this really happening?'' kind of feel to it.

Every single step.

The journey starts with Rennie, who has played on a few New Zealand national teams at various age group levels growing up, flying back home halfway around the world after her first year at Indiana. She was looking forward to a few months with family and friends that she hadn't seen in a year.

But when she got there, she got a call a few days later to come train with New Zealand's national team, which was preparing for the July Tokyo Olympics. She's gotten that call before, and was thrilled to get some work in, but that was all she was expecting. 

But then a few weeks later, after several days of great workouts, she was shocked when her name was added to the final roster. She was going to Tokyo. The roster announcement, broadcast around the country, was a surreal moment. Rennie couldn't believe it was happening. 

Too good, too shocking, to be true.

Rennie, the youngest player on the ''Football Ferns'' and one of just two new players on the roster, headed off to Tokyo, but when she got there, she had no inclinations that she would hit the field. That would be too unbelievable.

But in the closing minutes of their first qualifying game against Australia, New Zealand coach Tom Sermanni pointed to Rennie and sent her in. This kid, ''from a wee little place called Lowburn,'' was setting foot on an Olympic stage. 

And then – and you cannot make this up – a few minutes later with New Zealand trailing 2-0 in extra time, the ball floated Rennie's way in the box. And the very first time the forward EVER touched the ball on an international stage, she headed it into the back of the net for a goal.

One touch, one goal. In the Toyko friggin' Olympics for her national team, no less.

Even Disney would call that story a reach. No one would ever believe that's real.

"To score was like next-level awesome,'' Rennie said during a long conversation at  Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington. "Just being there was awesome. I could have never imagined all of that happening this way, and it's a memory I'll share forever, yeah.''

Even more amazing was that Rennie won't share that memory alone. Because of COVID concerns, no family or friends were allowed to watch any of the events in Japan. Even massive arenas were completely empty throughout the Games. It broke the hearts of mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, all around the world to miss the biggest moments of their lives.

But when Rennie's header hit the back of the net, there was her brother Liam actually in the stands, jumping up and down and screaming in joy. With his own two eyes, the camera operator who was there covering the Olympics for a New Zealand TV network, saw his little sister score a goal in the Olympics.

All alone in an empty arena, he got to see it – and share it – something that thousands of other family members of athletes wish they could have done.

Sister and brother, basically alone in a cavernous stadium, sharing an amazing memory.

To. Good. To. Be. True.

"I've been so fortunate to be able to share so many incredible moments with Gabi, especially with her football,'' her 23-year-old brother Liam Rennie said via a Zoom call from New Zealand. "Getting to be here for her first goal on an international stage, at the Olympics, was incredible.

"It tightens the bond between the two of us, because I think we think in a very similar way. Before she went over here, we had a big long walk on the beach discussing plans and where we see ourselves in the future, and it was special to see one wee step of that take place.''

Gabi Rennie's first experience for New Zealand at the Olympics was a goal on her very first touch

An unbending bond for brother and sister

Gabi Rennie is sitting in a conference room in the Jerry Tardy Center in Bloomington next to IU's soccer field, her whirlwind summer finally complete. She flew back to Indiana straight from Tokyo, and she's ready to start her second year as a forward with the Hoosiers. Classes start this week, and Indiana's women's soccer season starts on Thursday.

Reliving her whirlwind summer kept her smiling the entire time. Even though it's over now, she still can't believe it sometimes. The training, making the team, playing, scoring a goal and sharing it with her brother does indeed feel surreal, even having lived it.

"I was just planning to go home for the summer and see my family, and it wound up I only had a week at home. It all happened so fast,'' Rennie said. "I was coming off a (spring) season at IU so I was game-fit and game-ready. I worked hard at the camp, and it was a great opportunity.

"A lot of the girls were older, so I looked up to them. They were a great group of girls and I just looked at it as an opportunity to get better. I really had no idea what would happen next.''

No one did.

Her brother Liam was excited that his little sister was coming home, and he was looking forward to spending some time with her. Then the call came from the national team, and things got crazy for the family.

"The idea was that we would have a month, but when she got called up, it sped everything up. My mom was scrambling to get everybody home, and it was a little crazy,'' Liam said. "I already knew I was going to the Olympics a few months earlier and we are a little competitive. I don't think she wanted to be beaten to the Olympics by me.''

The Rennies grew up on a 40-acre horse farm and the three kids – there's another brother, Lachlan – had plenty of room to run as school.

"It was just a tiny wee place, no shops or anything, just farms,'' he said. "That's where our parents still live, and we were quite privileged as kids to have so much space. We had horses, and that looked like what Gabi would do before football took over, to be fair.''

Liam Rennie was busy working the day the New Zealand national team was being announced. He had another interview to film, ''but I told my boss I wasn't going to miss my sister's announcement, it doesn't matter what I'm doing, I'm covering it. I had to do an All-Blacks press conference two hours away, and then I needed another camera to swap up so I could do my sister's announcement

"It had been tough for her because a lot of her opportunities were falling away. She missed her under-20 World Cup because of COVID and she was called up once before and got injured the first day. So this was really special, making this team.''

Liam was part of a six-person crew telling stories of New Zealand athletes in Japan,  three journalists and three camera operators. Their primary show back home would be done by the time the soccer games were played in the evening local time, so he was able to use his media credential to go to the game.

Outside of a handful of officials and media members, he was the only one in the stadium that first game when Gabi scored her goal.

"I prepared myself for her not to play, to be honest, because she was the youngest player on the team,'' he said. "Just to see her go on the field was highlight enough. Starting with her coming on was special, but it all felt quite dreamlike that it was happening, because there's no one there.

"I just wanted her to get a touch and say she played in a game. But yeah, when that happened, my brain was like 'did that happen?' I almost blanked out at that moment. I was so proud at that point.''

After the game in the empty stadium, Gabi came up into the stands and they were able to talk briefly for a few minutes from a safe distance.

"Luckily because there was no one there, it was quite obvious where I was sitting. I was jumping up and down and screaming, and once it was finished, we got to be quite close in the stands, which was special,'' Liam said. "I called back home and had them on FaceTime, and they could all see Gabi at that moment.''

Gabi saw time in the next game as well, a 6-1 loss to the United States team. Liam was there, too, and marveled at seeing his sister out of the field with some of the legends of the game on the U.S. side.

"I got to the U.S. game, which was definitely different, but it was great to see her playing against the idols of football, and to see her on the field with them really made it real,'' Liam. said.

Gabi saw time in all three games, and as soon as it ended, she flew from Tokyo back to Indiana. New Zealand went 0-3, but the experience far outweighed the results. It's a memory she will never forget.

"When I got there, I just wanted to use the opportunity to get good trainings in. The first game, I wasn't expecting anything,'' Gabi said. "I was on the team that first day, but I wasn't expecting to play. In the final few minutes, I got the call to go out there. It was a cool feeling. It happened so quickly, I didn't have time to be nervous.

"And when I saw it hit the back of the net, I said to myself, 'I can't believe that just happened.' It was my first touch, and it went in.

"It was really cool. I was flooded with messages and didn't get much sleep that night. It was in complete disbelief. I had to keep telling myself that I scored a goal in the Olympics.''

She fully understands how lucky she was to share it with her brother, too, because she was well aware that no one else had family members around.

"He was staff, so he got to watch my first debut and my first goal, which meant a lot in a big empty stadium like that,'' Gabi said. "It was crazy that he was able to be there. After the game, I was able to go up to the stands socially distanced for a bit. He was FaceTiming with my family back at home, and it was very overwhelming seeing everyone.

"There was no crying. I was weirdly calm. And so so happy.''

After Gabi's goal in the Olympics for New Zealand, she was able to celebrate briefly with her brother Liam for a few minutes

The Indiana connection

Gabi Rennie has aspirations to play soccer at the highest level, so she knew she had to leave New Zealand to do that.

"For soccer, there's no college that would be worthwhile playing, and there's no pro league there either, so I had to put my name out there and look overseas,'' Rennie said. "I love study as well, so coming to America has been a wonderful opportunity.''

Indiana women's soccer coach Erwin van Bennekom saw her name on a recruiting list and made some calls. Because of COVID, no recruiting visits could be made, so all their talks were via Zoom and Gabi chose Indiana sight unseen.

"Her national coach (Tom Sermanni), I know pretty well,'' van Bennekom said. "Her name was on one of the recruiting services and I called him. He told me all about her. She couldn't visit because of COVID, but we had Zoom meetings and got to know her family and it all went well.

"She's such a good person, and I'm not just saying that because she's sitting here. We talk to recruits all the time that it's a two-way street with bringing energy. It's not just us coaches. And when she shows up, she's always ready to go. Hard is good, like she says, but a lot of people don't mean it.

"She means it. She's a huge part of our team on and off the field.''

Indiana went 6-5-1 a year ago in a COVID-shortened winter/spring season. Gabi had a goal and an assist, and much more is expected from the speedy forward this season. Even though she's 8,000 miles from home, she loves it in Bloomington.

"When I started looking around, I didn't really know the college system very well. I just got a good vibe from them all and I wanted to be in an environment where they cared a lot about soccer,'' she said. "And I had a few friends who were at Indiana, so that helped. It's been super interesting and different. The team, I love the girls here and all the coaching staff as well. 

"It's super different here at Indiana, but in a good way. It's a physical and fast game, but that's good for me and it fits my style. Hard is good. I'm looking forward to this season. We've got a lot of talent and a lot of depth.''

Fresh off her Olympic experience, she dove right back into training and is ready to go. The Hoosiers open their regular season on Thursday night against Valparaiso at Bill Armstrong Stadium.

And the march is on to keep getting better.

"Individually, it's still about developing myself as a player, but it's about making my teammates better too,'' she said. "There's always little things, but to me it's all about working hard and putting goals in the back of the net.

"I love Bloomington, it's such a cute city. It's very different from home, but I love it. The weather being nice now, I'm loving that, because I got here in January when it wasn't so nice. It's been the best thing, just getting back here and getting back into training again.''

van Bennekom, a Holland native, has several international players in his program, and he's thrilled for Rennie that she had so much success on such a grand stage.

"It was awesome. I was so proud of her, any time you can represent your country, it's a wonderful. We've got international people, international coaches, and I can't imagine what it's like to play for your country,'' he said.

And seeing her score a goal, even early in the morning, was a dream come true.

"I was in Belize on vacation, and we had a good night out before. It was an early game, and we got up. I was half asleep and my fiance says 'Gabi's in' and I look up and just like that, the ball goes in the net, and I'm like 'no effing way.

"It's was amazing. I was so happy for her. It was really hard to believe, watching it all happen like it did.''

A magical moment, to be sure.