U.S. players react after the women’s rugby sevens bronze medal match between the United States and Australia during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Tuesday.
Carl De Souza/AFP via Getty Images
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Carl De Souza/AFP via Getty Images
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SAINT-DENIS, France — The U.S. women’s rugby sevens team brought home its first medal.
In a dramatic finish, the United States defeated Australia 14-12 to win the bronze medal over the 2016 gold medalists. It was Alex Sedrick’s winning touchdown and conversion on the final play that put the United States ahead in the final moments.
The team’s kicker was not on the field when Sedrick scored, so she stepped up to take the kick that won the bronze medal for the United States.
“I’m not the penalty taker, I’m not even the second, third or fourth person on the penalty list. But I’m the guy on the field taking the penalty, and luckily it goes in,” Sedrick said.
There was an emotional performance from the American players at the Stade de France after the win. They ran onto the field, and Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” filled the stadium. On the field, Ilona Maher raised both arms in the air to celebrate the win.
“We wanted to do this to show what rugby can be in America,” Maher said after the medal ceremony. “We always say in rugby that we want to pass the jersey on. You’re passing the jersey on, it’s not yours, it’s the next guy’s…. I think today really made the jersey better so that other young girls can grow up wanting to play rugby, wanting to be professional, wanting to live the life that we live, where we travel the world and go to the Olympics.”
Earlier in the day, the United States lost 24-12 to defending Olympic champions New Zealand in the semifinals. That set up a gold medal match between New Zealand and Canada. In the end, New Zealand won the gold medal and Canada won the silver medal.
