Team USA Women’s Rugby Stuns Australia to Win Bronze Medal at Paris 2024 Olympics

By Jayson Panganiban July 31, 2024 11:21

Photo by Andrew Nelles / USA TODAY Sports

Team USA captured the bronze medal in women's rugby in what will be remembered as a highlight of the Olympic Games Paris 2024. This is made possible with a jaw-dropping late try by first-time Olympian Alex "Spiff" Sedrick in the last seconds of the game, defeating Australia 14-12. Their third-place finish marks the United States' first medal in 7s since 1924, when the men's team won gold in 15s. Both teams improved their standings from Tokyo, where the United States placed sixth, barely behind Australia.

The match went a little differently than three years ago. Both teams demonstrated their impressive defensive abilities. However, Australia took advantage on Maddison Levi's early breakaway try with a good conversation to take a 7-0 lead. A continuous possession by the Americans resulted in what appeared to be a try by Kayla Canett, but a review ruled the ball out of touch as she attempted to run into the try corner zone.

This call proved advantageous for Team USA, as the subsequent restart deep in the Australian zone allowed the Americans to drive their opponents back, resulting in a try by three-time Olympian Alev Kelter in a much better position for the conversion, tying the match 7-7 at halftime.

Australia had many nice possession periods in the second half, but Team USA's defense stayed structured and held their line. Levi of Australia was able to slip through to score her second try of the game, making the score 7-12 and providing what appeared to be the game-winning points for the medal.

However, a botched conversion by the Australians set up Sedrick's heroics just seconds later.

With only 30 seconds on the clock at the restart, Team USA appeared to be out of the race, with the Australians on the point of celebrating. However, sevens rugby has a long history of last-minute excitement. Pinned deep in their own area with only seconds remaining, the 26-year-old Sedrick found a crack in the Australian line to gallop the whole length of the pitch as time expired and land between the posts.

The atmosphere at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis was entertained, with a record 69,000 fans packed France's largest stadium to watch rugby's sixth and final day of Olympic action. After losing in the semi-finals earlier in the day to eventual gold medalists New Zealand, competing for a bronze medal proved to be a major motivator given the larger picture surrounding Team USA's women's rugby program.

"We did this for our program because we say a lot in rugby that we want to pass the jersey to the next generation," three-time Olympian Ilona Maher told the Press. She said they really made the jersey better so that other young girls who grows up can dream to play rugby. She hope that people can start to see how hard rugby is, how fun it is to watch, how exciting and entertaining rugby can be because of what they just witnessed.