The Olympic momentum continues, as Canada has captured a surprise silver medal women’s rugby sevens.
After a pair of big upsets against France in the quarter-final and Australia in the semis, the Canadian women came up just short in a 19-12 loss to New Zealand in the gold medal match.
It is the best-ever result for Canada in this event, besting the bronze medal the women won during the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. It’s also an unexpected one, as Canada entered the tournament ranked fifth in the world, behind all of the United States (who captured bronze), France, Australia, and top-ranked New Zealand.
In the end, it was the world’s No. 1 team, New Zealand, that ended up solving Canada in the gold medal match.
Canada held the lead at halftime, but could not hold on in the second half.
It was not the gold medal finish that the Canadian woman might have wanted, but it is still a very impressive showing for the country.
This is Canada’s second silver medal of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and moves the country’s total medal count to six.