SAINT-DENIS, France – Alex Sedrick ran the length of the field, dove under the posts and then calmly converted, securing the United States’ first ever Olympic rugby medal with a last-minute 14-12 victory over Australia.
Ilona Maher watched in awe as Sedrick bumped into two defenders near her tryline before racing to the other end to score in front of a crowd of more than 60,000 at the Stade de France and spark jubilation from the Americans.
“I was like, ‘What is this? No way? It was crazy because I thought, ‘No, there’s no way that’s going to happen,'” Maher said of the audacious and winning attempt. “And then she’ll have to kick it too, and she’s not our kicker.”
The Americans lost to defending champion New Zealand in the semifinals – their first experience at that level – but overcame a 12-7 deficit against the 2016 Australian champions with just seconds on the clock.
The Australians scored first through Maddison Levi – who set the record for most tries in an Olympic tournament – but Alev Kelter put the Americans back in an attempt to equalize before the break.
Levi scored again with around two minutes remaining, but the Australians missed the conversion, leaving the door open if the Americans scored a try and converted.
For Sedrick, the decisive play was just one example of how she “tried to channel my older girls. Ilona Maher. I’m just trying to be like her.”
Maher is the undisputed face of women’s rugby in America, but Sedrick’s long-range try is the defining image of the bronze medal game.
American players and staff rushed onto the field to celebrate. Sammy Sullivan cried after watching the finish from the sidelines. Maher raised both arms in triumph.
“Born in the USA”, by Bruce Springsteen, sounded from the stadium speakers.
The North American women had to wait until New Zealand beat Canada 19-12 in the final to take their place on the podium.
Maher was a breakout social media star at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago when his funny scenes of life in the pandemic-era athletes’ village went viral.
But she was left devastated after the quarter-final defeat to Great Britain. She did a lot of sports psychology and figured out how to stay centered and also continue promoting rugby, women’s sports and her team with her social media presence.
“I wanted to be good at social media – and I do a lot of social media – but also be a great rugby player,” she said. “And that was important to me.”
The medal is proof of that.
“It was important for me to show that I’m funny, but I’m also real and I’m a really good rugby player,” she said. “And so it was important for me to show that you can be anything. You can be a beast, a beauty, a brain.”
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