The Summer Olympics are the first Olympics to celebrate full gender parity in competition. According to the International Olympic Committee, quota places were distributed equally among women and men athletes this year — a major increase from over a century ago. When women first competed in the modern Olympics at the 1900 Games in Paris, they represented just over 2% of athletes.
Viewership has risen nearly 80% since the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, per NBC. And with the increased visibility and excitement for Team USA, a new star has risen: the U.S. women’s rugby sevens team.
On Tuesday evening, with dramatic flair, the athletes achieved a historic upset. In the final play of an electric and emotional match, they beat 2016 gold medal champions Australia 14-12 to clinch the bronze medal. The team’s bronze is the first-ever medal for U.S. women’s rugby, and the first medal for the USA rugby program in 100 years. The men’s rugby team last medaled in the 1924 Games — coincidentally also held in Paris — where they scored gold.
In a game-winning play befitting of her team’s unprecedented rise, Alex “Spiff” Sedrick broke a tackle with mere seconds left in the match. As time expired, she sprinted to score the point that evened the match, and then converted the kick that will forever cement her team in Olympic history (watch the play here). What made it all the more surprising? Spiff isn’t a kicker.
“I’m not the team-designated kicker,” the 26-year-old said after the match. “I’m not even second, third, or fourth in line for that position, but I was the one on the field to take it and luckily it went in, so I was really excited.”
Todd Clever, a global rugby icon and former board member and athlete representative for Team USA Rugby, told Nice News that of the 37 different countries he’s played in, “the atmosphere for the [Team USA women’s bronze medal match] was the best I’ve ever experienced.”
This trailblazing team performance has helped propel Team USA to lead the total Olympic medal count, as of Wednesday. And in the first “gender-equal” Olympic games, a majority of those USA medals have been posted by women.
Team superstar Ilona Maher and her teammates are thrilled and hopeful for the future of women’s rugby. “We wanted to do this to show what rugby could be in America,” Maher said after the medal ceremony. “We say in rugby a lot that we want to ‘pass the jersey.’ … I think today really made the jersey better so that other young girls can grow up wanting to play rugby, wanting to be professionals, wanting to live the life we live where we travel the world and go to the Olympics.”
Head coach Emilie Bydwell described the stunning last-minute win as “one of the best moments of the Olympics so far.” Bydwell herself has set the tone for her trailblazing team’s defying of stereotypes, convention, and expectation: Of all 12 rugby teams in competition, she is the only woman head coach.
Leading into their bronze medal-winning performance, the players were already winning over hearts and capturing attention on social media, led by Maher. She first rose to prominence during the 2021 Games, where her hilarious and candid commentary on the athlete experience in Olympic Village consistently went viral.
Since Tokyo, she has combined her refreshingly candid and funny takes on social media trends and life as an athlete, with an inspirational message about self-love and body positivity. She’s known for her signature red lip, which she dons in competition to show “I can be a beast and can play this very physical, aggressive sport while also keeping my femininity while I do it,” she told CBS Mornings.
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Maher and her teammates’ bronze medal isn’t the only win that they’ve secured in Paris. Their growing profile also caught the attention of businesswoman and philanthropist Michele Kang, who pledged a game-changing $4 million to the U.S. women’s rugby sevens team, to accelerate growth in the sport and provide more resources to the athletes and coaching team leading into the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
“2024 has been a banner year for women’s sports with record-breaking attendance and viewership, and women’s rugby is no exception,” said Kang, owner of the Washington Spirit, Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, and London City Lionesses women’s soccer clubs. She added: “This Eagles team … has captivated millions of new fans, bringing unprecedented attention to the sport. I am so happy to support these outstanding athletes to realize their dream in capturing the gold in Los Angeles in 2028. That work starts now.”
Added Clever, who predicts that American visibility for rugby will only continue to grow, catalyzed by the values of the sport: “The ethos of rugby is second to none. It’s the ultimate team sport,” he said. “Our core value is inclusion. And the women are just such great role models for young girls and boys. Women’s sports are just as competitive, as entertaining, as amazing to watch. And the women’s rugby team is just brilliant. They’re tough, fast, athletic, and they deserve all the credit and attention.”
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