Victoria 7s rugby player overcomes injury to play in 2024 Olympics

Victoria rugby 7s superstar Caroline Crossley will compete in her third Olympic Games this summer.

Crossley, 26, previously played with the national team in Santiago in 2023 and Lima in 2019.

According to Olympics Canada, Crossley started playing rugby on her high school boys’ team, then moved on to a club team started by her father.

The Oak Bay High graduate first came into international competition at the 2015 Youth Commonwealth Games, where Canada won silver. She has been a standout since joining the national women’s sevens team, competing at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco. In 2019, she helped Canada win gold from the Kitakyushu stop of the World Rugby Sevens Series.

According to Castaway Wanderers (CW) rugby club, where Crossley has been a long-time member, she has spent the last two years overcoming her recent injuries with surgery and rehabilitation. The CW club notes that her injury will rule out fellow Greater Victoria rugby phenom Sophie de Goede from the Olympics.

The Paris Games will be held from July 26 to August 11. 10,500 athletes will compete in 329 events.

The Canadian women’s 7’s team will begin play on July 28 at 8:30 a.m. PST with their Pool A match against Fiji, New Zealand at 12:30 p.m. later that day. On July 29, the team will play China at 7:00 a.m. PST with their seeding match beginning later that day.

The bronze medal match is on July 30 at 10:00 am and the gold medal match is at 10:45 am.

The full schedule and results can be found online at olympics.com/en/paris-2024/schedule/rugby-sevens/women.