AUSTRALIA'S RUGBY SEVENS STARS BREAK DOWN IN TEARS AS WOMEN'S TEAM FAIL TO WIN ANY MEDAL IN SPECTACULAR OLYMPIC GAMES CHOKE
- Australia's rugby sevens team were stunned in Paris
- The women's side failed to win a medal after losing to Canada and US
- They were expected to challenge for gold at the Olympics
There were tears aplenty in the Paris sunshine for Australia's rugby sevens ladies after they were stunned by Canada and the United States at the Olympic Games.
The Aussies looked impossible to stop in France having steamrolled their opposition leading up to Tuesday's double header of semi-finals before the big final.
Yet the ladies' team simply fell apart at the Stade de France, first losing to underdogs Canada in the semi-final.
Star player Maddison Levi was reduced to tears after seeing gold slip away from her grasp, with the team vowing to give their all in the bronze medal match against the United States later in the day.
But they were once again stunned in Paris, with the Americans scoring a last-gasp try to win the match by two points - onsetting similarly emotional scenes for the Aussies who broke down in tears at full time.
The Rio gold medallists Australia had won the world series final in Spain two months ago and were expected to face defending champions New Zealand for a second gold.
'I guess obviously we work so hard for it and to come so close,' Levi told Eurosport after the Canada defeat.
'We didn't put our best foot out there we played with our heart and unfortunately at the end of the day we couldn't get the result we wanted.'
When congratulated for scoring yet another try, a candid Levi said: 'It's awesome but at the end of the day it's gutting to walk off without that gold medal. When you're not getting the team result, it doesn't really matter.'
Teammate Charlotte Caslick said: 'There is that extra pressure and expectation that we were carrying.
Canada are a really good side but I guess we did it to ourselves. Hopefully we can finish off the tournament on a high.'
Read more 2024-07-30T17:55:58Z