With arguably the most dramatic finish at the Paris Olympics so far, Team USA made the rugby sevens podium for the first time in history by upsetting Australia 14-12 in Tuesday’s bronze medal match.
Following the Olympic debut of the women's game in 2016, the US had never finished higher than fifth place before Tuesday afternoon. They entered the day knowing they’d already secured at least fourth place after clinching a semifinal berth, where they fell to eventual back-to-back gold medalists New Zealand.
Stunning finish clinches Team USA's bronze
The underdog Women's Eagles Sevens faced Rio gold medalists Australia in the bronze medal match, going toe-to-toe to end the first half tied 7-7. After going down 12-7 with what looked like a game-winning try from Australian Maddison Levi, the US blasted a chaotic comeback in the last play of the game.
With 15 seconds left on the clock, Team USA’s Alex "Spiff" Sedrick pulled off an incredible 85-meter run to score a game-tying try as time expired. The try — alongside the two-point conversion attempt it earned — counted despite the clock running out because rugby, like American football, does not end a game mid-play.
Sedrick whipped in the subsequent conversion, ticking the final score up to 14-12 and securing her 2024 squad's place in the Olympic history books.
"It was crazy because I was like no way this is happening. [She’s] been an MVP for me this whole season," teammate and social media star Ilona Maher said of Sedrick after the match.
Medal marks turning point for USA rugby
Not only did today's game marked the first time any US rugby team has medaled in the Rugby Sevens event, it was also the first time the US has medaled in any Olympic rugby event since 1924.
But the historic hardware isn’t the only thing the US will bring home from Paris. The exposure — both from winning a medal and from an influx of support courtesy of celebrities and droves of newly minted fans — has rugby sevens grabbing the kind of attention that can boost a sport’s growth.
Investment in the sport was near-immediate. Mere hours after the US bagged bronze, trailblazing women's sports owner Michele Kang announced her $4 million donation to the team to grow the sport and support its players and staff in the leadup to the 2028 LA Olympics.
USA rugby sevens player Ariana Ramsey summed up the moment post-game: "We did a lot for our program just now. We are gonna bring out so many more fans now that we are actually winning. People are gonna want to see what rugby is about and learn more about our game."
Team USA's rugby squad will begin the hunt for their first-ever Olympic medal when the Paris Games’ rugby sevens tournament takes the pitch on Sunday.
This marks just the third time the Olympics have featured rugby sevens after its debut at the 2016 Rio Games.
How the Olympic rugby sevens tournament works
Unlike traditional rugby’s 15-player teams and 40-minute halves, rugby sevens consists of squads of seven battling it out through two seven-minute halves. Reflecting the sport’s sped-up nature, the Olympic rugby sevens tournament is played over just three consecutive days.
Twelve teams divided into three groups of four will compete in round-robin pool play to earn points — three for a win, two for a draw, and one for a loss — from Sunday, July 28th through the first half of Monday, July 29th.
The two teams with the most points in each group plus the next two overall best teams then advance to Monday afternoon's quarterfinals.
On Tuesday, July 30th, teams knocked out of the playoffs will face off in "placing" matches to achieve an official Olympic rating. These games are played concurrently with the semifinals before the bronze and gold medal contests close out the tournament.
Veterans lead Team USA's Olympic charge
The US is looking to improve on their fifth- and sixth-place finishes at Rio and Tokyo, respectively, and they’re banking on having the experience to do it.
Seven of Team USA's 12 players are Olympic veterans, with two — 33-year-olds Lauren Doyle and Alev Kelter — having competed in both of the sport’s previous Olympic showcases. Doyle and fellow Tokyo vet Naya Tapper co-captain the squad, which also features US rugby standout and TikTok star Ilona Maher.
However, to ascend their first-ever Olympic podium, the US will have to contend with the sport’s top teams — including Rio gold medalists Australia and Tokyo champs New Zealand. Plus, an especially hungry Team GB will be particularly tough to beat, as the current world No. 1 lookscto avenge their fourth-place finishes in 2016 and 2021.
How to watch the US rugby sevens squad
The US opens pool play against Japan at 10:30 AM ET before facing No. 40 Brazil at 2 PM ET on Sunday, July 28th, with live coverage on NBC platforms.