Aurora Barbarian Chloe Daniels has won a silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, after Canada’s women’s rugby sevens teams lost 19-12 to New Zealand in the gold medal game today.
Daniels scored seven of Canada’s 12 points with a try and conversion, with fellow Canuck Alysha Corrigan also dotting down.
But defending Olympic and SVNS Series champions New Zealand proved too strong, having already beaten Canada in the pool stage earlier in the tournament.
Canada had a tough journey to the final in Paris, downing one of the tournament favourites Australia in a comeback semi-final win earlier on Tuesday, having beaten home team France in the quarter-finals.
Oh Canada is proud 🇨🇦🥈
— Rugby Canada (@RugbyCanada) July 30, 2024
Canada's Women's Sevens Team's amazing performance over the last three days in Paris has led to our FIRST EVER silver medal and best ever performance at the Olympics 👏❤️
🏉 SCORERS: Chloe Daniels (1T, TC), Alysha Corrigan (1T)#RugbyCA | #OneSquad pic.twitter.com/WpzGejaiqf
Speaking with the Canadian Olympic Committee after the Australia match, Daniels said the prospect of winning an Olympic medal was “hard to describe.”
“It’s finally coming to reality. It’s all happening. I am just so proud of this group,” she said.
The silver medal is Canada’s best finish in rugby sevens at the Olympics, since the sport was introduced to the games in Rio in 2016.
Canada’s previous best result was when the team won bronze at the Rio Games. The team finished ninth in the event at Tokyo 2020.
There was extensive hometown support for Daniels, with the Town of Georgina hosting a watch party for both the semi-final and final at the Multi-Use Recreation Complex (MURC).
Both the Town of Aurora and York Region also took to social media to share their congratulations.
The Sutton-born rugby star got her start playing rugby in Aurora with the Barbarians at the age of 10, and she has been part of the club ever since.
“I’ve been a part of the club for 11 years, and I’m still a part of the club. I love to go back and either coach sessions or be involved in any way I can, but it’s a great club, it’s been a huge part of my journey,” Daniels said in a previous interview. “The club has been a huge support, and it really is just like a family. It’s really cool to see how much support I have from them.”
