U.S. Women Make History With The First-Ever Medal In Rugby 7s

PARIS — In what will go down as a highlight moment from these Olympic Games Paris 2024, Team USA dramatically grabbed the bronze medal in women’s rugby with a jaw-dropping late try by first-time Olympian Alex “Spiff” Sedrick in the final seconds of the game to beat Australia 14-12.

The third-place finish is the first medal in 7s for the U.S., with the last time the Americans brought home hardware in the sport was in 1924 when the men’s team won gold in 15s.

Both teams improved their standings from Tokyo where the U.S. finished sixth, just behind Australia.

But tonight’s match played out a little differently than three years earlier.

With temperatures hitting the 90s to start the match, both teams showed off their formidable defensive capabilities. But it was Australia who capitalized on an early breakaway try from Maddison Levi with a successful conversation to take a 7-0 lead.

A sustained possession from the Americans led to what appeared to be a try by Kayla Canett, but a TV review judged the ball out of touch as she tried to slip into the corner of the try zone. This call proved fortuitous for Team USA, as the subsequent restart deep in the Australian zone allowed the Americans to drive their opponents back which led to a try by three-time Olympian Alev Kelter in a much better position for the conversion to tie the match 7-7 heading into halftime.

In the second half, Australia had several good stretches of possession but Team USA’s defense remained organized and held their line. Australia’s Levi was able to slip through to score her second try of the game to make it 7-12 and what felt like the game-winning points needed for the medal. But a missed conversion from the Australians set up Sedrick’s heroics only moments later.

With only 30 seconds on the clock at the restart, all seemed lost for Team USA with the Aussies on the verge of celebration.

But sevens rugby has a long tradition of down-to-the-wire excitement. Pinned deep in their own territory with the final seconds ticking away, the 26-year-old Sedrick somehow found a crack in the Aussie line to sprint the entire length of the pitch as time expired and managed to touch down between the posts.

In the ensuing excitement, not everyone seemed aware the score was still only tied 12-12 and needed a successful conversion to secure the win. With Team USA’s normal kickers having been subbed off, Sedrick was forced to take her own kick and the first-time Olympian nailed the conversion to end the game and secure Team USA’s first-ever medal in the sport.

“I have to be honest, I thought we won when we scored,” admitted Sedrick. “And I’m not the team-designated kicker. I’m not even second, third or fourth in line for that position, but I was the one on the field to take it and luckily it went in so I was really excited.”

“That's got to be one of the best moments of the Olympics so far,” said Team USA Head coach Emilie Bydwell. Of the 12 teams competing, Bydwell was the only woman head coach.

The environment at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis was electrifying with a staggering 69,000 fans (rapper Flavor Flav among them) filling France’s largest stadium to witness rugby’s sixth and final day of Olympic competition.

Having lost in the semi-finals earlier in the day to eventual gold medal winners New Zealand, playing for a bronze model proved a huge incentive considering the bigger picture surrounding Team USA women’s rugby program.

“We did this for our program because we say in rugby a lot that we want to pass the jersey (to the next generation),” explained three-time Olympian Ilona Maher. “I think today we really made the jersey better so that other young girls can grow up wanting to play rugby.”

“I just hope people can start to see how hard it is, how fun it is to watch, how exciting and exhilarating it can be because of what they just saw,” said Bydwell about rugby. “It's such an American sport. It's fast, it's physical, and we really committed to trying to play an American style of sevens. I am excited about how it was able to end with a try like that.”

This was the third edition of 7s in the Olympics with the sport having been added to the Olympic program in Rio 2016. Team USA shared the podium with New Zealand who topped Canada 19-12 in the gold medal match.

Lisa Costantini has covered Olympic and Paralympic sports for more than a decade, including for the International Olympic Committee. She is a freelance writer who has contributed to TeamUSA.com since 2011.