2 days Ago
The anthem played as Army officer Sammy Sullivan stood to attention, saluting, beside her United States rugby teammates before the final of the Hong Kong Sevens. Sometimes, like all of us, her mind drifts. So no prizes for guessing another big occasion Sullivan may have strayed to: Paris in July, playing for an Olympic medal.
“I do let myself think about that sometimes,” Sullivan tells The Associated Press. “But for the most part, it’s so important to just try to be in the present and focus on the next task.” The next major task for Sullivan and her is a medal.
It’s a collective ambition for U.S. players including Perry Baker, a two-time men’s world sevens player of the year.
Despite being competitive in the annual men’s and women’s world series, the U.S. hasn’t won an Olympic medal in since it was introduced to the program at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
At Tokyo three years ago, the U.S. teams crashed out in quarterfinal losses to Britain — the women despite topping a group that contained 2016 champion Australia; the men after entering the Olympics as the No.
2-ranked team. Making amends for that is at the top of the list of Paris goals for Ilona Maher, the breakout social media star on TikTok at the Tokyo Olympics. “We’re kind of learning how important it is to put yourself in the best position during every pool game, during quarterfinals,” Maher says.
"We're doing whatever we can, because I think a medal would be amazing for us, for our program, and.
