With a time of 5:25:28, the United States finished just behind Great Britain and the Netherlands, who took home the gold and silver medals, respectively. It was a win 16 years in the making, with the U.S. last medaling in the event in 2008.

As a rugby player at Brown, Bydwell was named a three-time All-American and the 2007 Collegiate Player of the Year. She debuted for the USA Eagles in 2008 and was captain of the Olympic team in 2016. Three years later, Bydwell transitioned to coaching and in 2021 was selected as head coach of the USA women’s sevens national team — a position previously held by the late Kathy Flores, Brown’s legendary women’s rugby coach.

In taking up that post, Bydwell said her goal was to not only bring home an Olympic medal, but to develop the sport on and off the field and unlock a national love of rugby. 

“I just hope people can start to see how hard it is, how fun it is to watch [and] how exciting and exhilarating it can be because of what they just saw,” Bydwell said. “It’s fast, it’s physical, and we really committed to trying to play an American style of sevens. I am excited about how it was able to end with a try like that.”

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