BIARRITZ, FRA. - The U.S. Women’s National Team in rugby sevens have officially qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. After winning their fourth medal of the season last month in Langford, B.C., the USA women needed only to take the field today in the final tournament of the World Rugby Sevens Series 2019, to earn the single rankings point needed to guarantee a Top 4 finish.
Currently ranked No. 2 in the world having medaled at four of five completed tournaments this season, the U.S. women opened their final stop in Biarritz, France with a stunning 36-5 defeat of China. Sitting two points ahead of No. 3 Canada and eight points behind No. 1 New Zealand, the USA Women’s Sevens have already made this season their most successful of all time.
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Never before has the program finished higher than fifth place or earned more than two medals within one season. As an example of their tremendous growth, the group was unable to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games through the regular season and back then forced to clinch a berth through regional qualifiers.
In his first season as Head Coach with the USA Women, previously serving as an Assistant Coach for the USA Men’s Sevens, Chris Brown was proud of his group’s success.
"Massively thrilled for our program and players to have qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games,” said Brown. “This achievement is a product of our growth as a team, our ability to learn and understand one another all season, as well as the advancement of rugby in America.
“It’s exciting to see how our player pool has grown in depth and how our athletes have risen as a collective to reach a No. 2 ranking and challenge the best in the world. I'm incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication by this group and our staff to make history this season and can only expect great things as we strive to reach the podium in 2020.'
The 2016 Games marked the first ever appearance for Rugby Sevens in the Olympics. Rugby Fifteens was previously in the Olympic program in the early 1900s where the United States men won back-to-back Gold medals in 1920 and 1924.
The USA Women’s Eagles Sevens opened their 2019 Olympic qualifying season with a silver medal at their home stop in Glendale, CO, finishing fourth in Dubai and then adding three consecutive Bronze medals in Sydney, AUS, Kitakyushu, JPN, and Langford, B.C.
In what has become a monumentally historic season, the U.S. women are the only team to have made all five Semifinals to date, tying reigning World Cup Champions New Zealand in total medal count and breaking their own record of podium finishes within one season.
Alongside their overall ranking, the United States women sit Top 5 in four other statistical categories including second in tackles made by a team, as well as fifth in most tries, most points and most restarts by a team.
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As they continue to battle through the pool stages today, hoping to reach the podium once more in the knockout stages tomorrow, the USA Women’s Sevens will use every ounce of momentum to embed themselves within the proud minds of U.S. sports fans across the nation.
The final round of the season continues with a matchup against Fiji at 10:42 AM ET on facebook.com/worldrugby7s.
