Alex Sedrick ran many of the size of the sector to provide the U.S. girls a primary Olympic rugby sevens medal with a surprising stoppage-time comeback win over Australia within the bronze-medal match on Tuesday.
The 2016 champion Australians had been main 12-7 with seconds remaining and deep in U.S. territory. The ball went to Sedrick and he or she got rid of two tacklers earlier than racing to the opposite finish to attain and spark jubilation for the Individuals.
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The U.S. girls reached the Olympic semifinals for the primary time and misplaced to defending champion New Zealand. That made the playoff for a 3rd a case of successful a medal or going dwelling with out.
The Individuals rushed onto the sector to have fun the 14-12 victory. Sammy Sullivan was in tears. Ilona Maher raised each arms up in triumph. Olympian Maher has change into a sensation on and off the sector. Recognized for her broad shoulders and highly effective physique, and her lively social media presence — with 1.8 million followers on TikTok — she has labored to draw a brand new technology of followers to rugby.
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Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” blared over the stadium audio system.
The U.S. girls needed to wait till after the ultimate between New Zealand and Canada to take their place on the rostrum.
Group USA’s gorgeous upset over Australia didn’t disappoint and Maher would possibly get the legion of followers the game is hoping for.
“I know that these girls’ lives are being changed by it as well because they heard about rugby on a girl from TikTok,” she informed “CBS Mornings.” “So they decided to try out this club program and then they met their best friends there and now they’re, you know, playing around, having the best memories. So, um, I’m honored and I just hope to keep exposing America to rugby.”
