Olympics Day 4: U.S. women medal in rugby sevens with comeback victory over Australia

PARIS — Alex Sedrick ran the length of the field, dived in under the posts and then calmly took the conversion, securing a first Olympic rugby sevens medal for the United States with a 14-12, last-minute upset over Australia.

Ilona Maher watched in awe as Sedrick bumped off two tacklers near her own tryline before sprinting all the way to the other end to score in front of a 60,000-plus crowd at Stade de France and spark jubilation for the Americans.

“I was kind of like, ‘What is this? No way? It was crazy because I was like, ‘No, there’s no way this is happening,” Maher said of the audacious, winning try. “And then for her to have to make the kick as well, and she’s not our kicker.”

The American women lost to defending champion New Zealand in the semis — their first experience at that level — but overcame a 12-7 deficit against the 2016 champion Australians with just seconds on the clock.

The Australians scored first via Maddison Levi — who set a record for most tries in an Olympic tournament — but Alev Kelter got the Americans back into it with a try to level before halftime.

Levi scored again with about two minutes to play but the Australians missed the conversion, leaving the door open if the Americans scored a try and converted it.

It’s a fast-paced game, much faster than traditional 15-a-side rugby. It’s two seven-minute halves, multiple matches daily over three days — and only seven players on each team on a full-size field. As all the coaches and players say, anything can happen.

For Sedrick, the game-breaking play was just an example of her “trying to channel my big 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.

The American players and staff rushed onto the field to celebrate. Sammy Sullivan was in tears, after watching the finish from the sidelines. Maher raised both arms up in triumph.

France, Germany, Canada clinch basketball quarterfinals

France’s miracle last-second comeback at the Paris Games on Tuesday got even better a few hours later, when the host nation clinched a spot in the quarterfinals and a trip to Paris for the knockout round next week.

Also now officially in the Olympic quarterfinals: Germany and Canada. And on Wednesday, the winner of the U.S.-South Sudan game also will have a spot in the quarterfinals all wrapped up.

The field for the medal round began taking shape Tuesday, especially after reigning World Cup champion Germany pulled away from a halftime tie and beat Brazil 86-73 in the final game of the evening. That victory came just after France got a four-point play from Matthew Strazel to tie the game late in regulation and beat Japan 94-90 in overtime behind 18 points from Victor Wembanyama.

Those results left France and Germany atop Group B at 2-0 and ensured of the top two spots in the group over Brazil and Japan, both of whom are 0-2. Canada’s win over Australia earlier Tuesday also pushed it to 2-0 and now assured of no worse than a wild-card spot in the quarterfinals.

“I just heard that,” Germany forward Franz Wagner said about clinching the spot in the quarterfinals. “Honestly, I didn’t know. It’s good.”

There are three different groups of four teams in the Olympic tournament; the top two finishers in each group make the quarterfinals, and the final two spots in the next round go to the best third-place teams in group play.

France, the silver medalist to the U.S. at the Tokyo Games three years ago, is in the quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive Olympics. Germany has now made the quarterfinals for the second consecutive Olympics — after not making it that far in the tournament since 1992 — and Canada is in the quarters for the first time since 2000.

Gauff upset

The scene felt all too familiar to Gauff. An officiating decision she was sure was wrong. A chair umpire who wouldn’t listen. Tears streaming down her cheeks. And, most disappointing of all, a loss, this time at the Paris Games.

Even the site was the same: Court Philippe Chatrier was where the reigning U.S. Open champion was eliminated in the third round at the Summer Games by Donna Vekic of Croatia 7-6 (7), 6-2.

That’s also the main stadium used annually for the French Open, where Gauff found herself in a nearly identical dispute over a call while being defeated by eventual champion Iga Swiatek in the semifinals last month.

“There’s been multiple times this year where that’s happened to me — where I felt like I always have to be an advocate for myself on the court,” Gauff said afterward, renewing a call for video review to be used in tennis, as it is in many other professional sports.

Gauff was the female flag bearer for the United States during the opening ceremony on Friday.

Also in tennis, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz advanced into the doubles quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-7 (2), 10-2 match tiebreaker victory over Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands.

No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek defeated No. 52 Wang Xiyu of China 6-2, 6-4.

Triathlon postponed

The men’s triathlon scheduled for Tuesday was postponed because of concerns about the water quality in the Seine River.

It was rescheduled for Wednesday, when the women’s competition is also slated to be held. But both will happen only if water tests show acceptable levels of E. coli and other bacteria. Friday is also planned as a backup date.

There is rain forecast Tuesday night through Thursday, which could complicate rescheduling because rain generally causes an increase in bacteria levels in the Seine, the long-polluted waterway that has gone through an expensive cleanup effort.

“It’s disappointing that there’s this negative aspect now with the delay,” American triathlete Seth Rider said. “But I hope we can have a triathlon and I can accomplish this dream that I’ve had since I was a little kid.”

Heat wave

After enduring the rain in the opening ceremony, athletes now are having to deal with the heat.

Most of France is under heat warnings, with temperatures in Paris hitting 36 degrees Celsius (97 Fahrenheit), the national weather agency said. Air conditioning is far less common in French homes, shops and restaurants than in places like the United States.

The heat was even worse in the south, including the region around the Mediterranean cities of Marseille and Nice that are hosting Olympic competitions like soccer and sailing. It was as hot as 41 C (105 F) in parts of southern France.

Before winning the gold Tuesday, Biles posted a video on Instagram while struggling with the lack of air conditioning.

“Don’t come for me about my hair,” Biles wrote on Instagram before the gymnastics team final. “IT WAS DONE but bus has NO AC and it’s like 9,000 degrees. Oh & a 45 minutes ride.”

TUESDAY’S MEDALISTS

FENCING

Women’s Épée Team

GOLD—Italy (Rossella Fiamingo, Giulia Rizzi, Alberta Santuccio, Mara Navarria)

SILVER—France (Coraline Vitalis, Auriane Mallo-Breton, Marie-Florence Candassamy, Alexandra Louis-Marie)

BRONZE—Poland (Renata Knapik-Miazga, Martyna Swatowska-Wenglarczyk, Alicja Klasik, Aleksandra Jarecka)

ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS

Women’s Team

GOLD—United States (Simone Biles, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Sunisa Lee, Hezly Rivera)

SILVER—Italy (Angela Andreoli, Alice D’Amato, Manila Esposito, Elisa Iorio, Giorgia Villa)

BRONZE—Brazil (Rebeca Andrade, Jade Barbosa, Lorrane Oliveira, Flavia Saraiva, Julia Soares)

JUDO

Men – 81 kg

GOLD—Takanori Nagase, Japan

SILVER—Tato Grigalashvili, Georgia

BRONZE—Joonhwan Lee, South Korea

BRONZE—Somon Makhmadbekov, Tajikistan

Women – 63 kg

GOLD—Andreja Leski, Slovenia

SILVER—Prisca Awiti Alcaraz, Mexico

BRONZE—Clarisse Agbegnenou, France

BRONZE—Laura Fazliu, Kosovo

RUGBY SEVENS

Women

GOLD—New Zealand (Risi Pouri-Lane, Jorja Miller, Stacey Waaka, Manaia Nuku, Sarah Hirini, Michaela Blyde, Tyla King, Mahina Paul, Jazmin Felix-Hotham, Theresa Setefano, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, Alena Saili)

SILVER—Canada (Caroline Crossley, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan, Asia Hogan-Rochester, Chloe Daniels, Charity Williams, Florence Symonds, Carissa Norsten, Krissy Scurfield, Fancy Bermudez, Piper Logan, Keyara Wardley, Taylor Perry, Shalaya Valenzuela)

BRONZE—United States (Ariana Ramsey, Ilona Maher, Kayla Canett, Sammy Sullivan, Alev Kelter, Lauren Doyle, Naya Tapper, Alex Sedrick, Alena Olsen, Steph Rovetti, Sarah Levy, Kristi Kirshe)

SHOOTING

Trap Men

GOLD—Nathan Hales, Britain

SILVER—Ying Qi, China

BRONZE—Jean Pierre Brol Cardenas, Guatemala

10m Air Pistol Mixed Team

GOLD—Serbia (Zorana Arunovic, Damir Mikec)

SILVER—Turkey (Sevval Ilayda Tarhan, Yusuf Dikec)

BRONZE—India (Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh)

SWIMMING

Men’s 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay

GOLD—Britain (James Guy, Jack McMillan, Kieran Bird, Tom Dean, Matthew Richards, Duncan Scott)

SILVER—United States (Drew Kibler, Brooks Curry, Blake Pieroni, Chris Guiliano, Luke Hobson, Carson Foster, Kieran Smith)

BRONZE—Australia (Kai Taylor, Zac Incerti, Flynn Southam, Thomas Neill, Maximillian Giuliani, Elijah Winnington)

Men’s 800m Freestyle

GOLD—Daniel Wiffen, Ireland

SILVER—Bobby Finke, United States

BRONZE—Gregorio Paltrinieri, Italy

Women’s 100m Backstroke

GOLD—Kaylee McKeown, Australia

SILVER—Regan Smith, United States

BRONZE—Katharine Berkoff, United States

TABLE TENNIS

Mixed Doubles

GOLD—China (Chuqin Wang, Yingsha Sun)

SILVER—North Korea (Jong Sik Ri, Kum Yong Kim)

BRONZE—South Korea (Jonghoon Lim, Yubin Shin)