With a time of 5:25:28, the USA finished just behind Great Britain and the Netherlands, who took the gold and silver medals respectively. This was a win that was achieved 16 years ago, with the USA last winning the event in 2008.

As a rugby player at Brown, Bydwell was a three-time All-American and the 2007 College Player of the Year. She made her debut for the USA Eagles in 2008 and was captain of the Olympic team in 2016. Three years later, Bydwell moved into coaching and was named the head coach of the U.S. women’s national sevens team in 2021 — a position previously occupied by Brown’s legendary women’s rugby coach, the late Kathy Flores.

Bydwell said his aim in taking on this role was not only to win an Olympic medal but also to develop the sport on and off the field and to inspire a love of rugby in the country.

“I hope people start to see how difficult it is, how fun it is to watch and how exciting and exhilarating it can be because of what they’ve just seen,” Bydwell said. “We’re committed to trying to play fast, physical, really American sevens. I’m excited about how it’s turned out with this kind of experimentation.”

At Brown, Hollingsworth rowed with the varsity 8 in 2020-21 and 2021-2022. She served as captain her senior year and was named Second Team All-Ivy and earned Second Team All-America honors as a junior.