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As the Australian Sevens rugby team’s dreams came to nothing after three long hours of waiting in the Parisian sunshine, Charlotte Caslick broke down in tears and wondered what had gone wrong.
Fresh off the world series title and Rio Olympic gold medal, the team has made it to Tuesday’s semi-finals, where they are expected to face off against Tokyo Olympic champions New Zealand.
However, on a day when the temperature reached over 30 degrees, a momentary oversight caused the entire campaign to be affected.
Canada’s Charity Williams played the villain, catching the Australian defenders off guard, accelerating and unexpectedly scoring, sparking one of the biggest upsets of the Games.
Australia led 12-0 at one point but was unable to recover, and a 21-12 defeat left the shaken team relegated to a bronze medal match against the United States less than three hours later.
Australia lost another first down and then another with the score tied at 7-7 before storming the U.S. defense in the final 90 seconds, culminating in a touchdown run by Maddison Levi, their second touchdown and 14th of the Games, which seemed to earn them a consolation medal.
Teagan and Madison Levy take solace after the women’s rugby sevens team lost in the bronze medal match.Credit: Getty Images
But Alex Sedrick shook off the tackle in mid-air and raced 85 metres to score, sparking chaotic scenes and more misery for Tim Walsh’s side.
The United States defeated Australia in the group stage of the Tokyo Olympics, while Caslick’s team lost to Fiji in the quarterfinals and missed out on a medal.
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