A pair of UBC students will be returning to Vancouver with Olympic medals around their necks.
Piper Logan and Florence Symonds, who play rugby for the UBC Thunderbirds, were among the Canadian rugby sevens players who won silver Tuesday in Paris. Canada upset Australia in the semi-final before narrowly losing to New Zealand in the gold medal match. It was a surprise medal and a huge accomplishment for the Canadian women.
Both Symonds and Logan are arts students heading into their third year at UBC. Symonds is 22 years old and from Vancouver, while Logan is 23 and calls Calgary home. They have each contributed to UBC’s success, helping the university win the Canada West 15s and Sevens titles.
The UBC duo are among the youngest players on Canada’s Olympic rugby team. Logan contributed four tries during the Olympic tournament, while Symonds tallied 10 points.
“No better feeling than this,” Logan said on Instagram after winning silver on Tuesday.
“No amount of thank yous will ever be enough,” she said, in reference to her family. “Watching every single game rain or shine and saying yes to McDonald’s on the way home (that’s why you’re the best). Never being upset when I didn’t perform and always celebrating when I did. You are the reason I am here today.”
UBC students have now won a total of 63 Olympic medals all-time, including four at the last Summer Games in Tokyo. They have two (and counting) in Paris.