PARIS, France — The U.S. women's rugby sevens team, co-captained by Naya Tapper, earned the country's first Olympic medal on Wednesday, defeating Australia in the bronze-medal match.
The 2016 champion Australians were leading 12-7 with just seconds to play when Alex Sedrick picked up the ball, bounced off two tacklers and raced all the way to the other end for the game-winning score. The win came shortly after the U.S. lost to New Zealand in the semifinals by a score of 24-12.
New Zealand has reached the final at every Olympic tournament since rugby sevens was added to the program at Rio de Janeiro in 2016. It lost that final to Australia but then went on a dominating run to the title in Tokyo.
The Americans rushed onto the field to celebrate the 14-12 victory. Sammy Sullivan was in tears. Ilona Maher raised both arms up in triumph.
Bruce Springsteen's “Born in the U.S.A.” blared over the stadium speakers.
The team defeated Japan and Brazil on Sunday before falling to France on Monday and New Zealand on Tuesday.
Tapper was an All-American track and field star at West Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, but found rugby at the University of North Carolina, where she joined a club team on campus.
Tapper joined the U.S. Women’s Sevens squad in 2016. Her rare combination of speed and power made her one of the best players in team history and landed her an Olympics debut in Tokyo. She's also joined on the team by Sammy Sullivan from Fayetteville, North Carolina.
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