Australia wins gold in first-ever Olympic Women's Rugby Sevens Championship

Australia on 8 August 2016 clinched the gold medal as the first-ever Olympic champion in the Women's Rugby Sevens category. The Australian team defeated New Zealand by 24-17. The bronze medal was won by Canada that defeated Britain by a score of 33-10. Rugby Sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics  The 2016 Summer Olympics marks the debut for rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics, though rugby union was

last played at the 1924 Summer Olympics.

• The sport debuted at the 1900 Paris games where the gold medal was won by the host nation.

• It was subsequently featured at the London games in 1908, the Antwerp games in 1920 and the Paris games in 1924.

• The United States is the most successful nation in Olympic rugby tournaments, having won the gold medal in both 1920 and 1924.

• France has the most medals: one gold in 1900 and two silvers in 1920 and 1924.

• Shortly after the 1924 games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) dropped rugby union as an Olympic sport. Since then, there have been numerous attempts to bring the sport back to the Olympic programme.

• In October 2009, the IOC voted at its session in Copenhagen to include the sevens version of the sport in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

• The event made its debut in an Olympic programme at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics.

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