The U.S. women’s rugby team just won its first Olympic medal with the help of an Army captain.
In a stunning win, the U.S. women’s rugby sevens team upset Australia to win the bronze medal Tuesday, 14-12. Team USA scored on the game’s final play to win.
One of the stars of the team’s run was Samantha Sullivan, an active duty Army captain and 2020 West Point graduate, where she was an All American rugby player for head coach Bill LeClerc.
LeClerc told Task & Purpose that Sullivan came to rugby only after she was cut from the school’s soccer team, but became a starter early on.
“What I like to think is that we unearthed something in her that she got really passionate about,” LeClerc said. “She’s really a hard working, passionate person who wants to excel at a lot of things and she put the work in.”
Sullivan started every game for Team USA as a prop/wing in the Olympics and scored tries against Japan and Brazil.
Trained as an Army engineer, Sullivan is part of the Army’s World Class Athlete Program which allows soldiers to train full-time toward international competitions.
At West Point, Sullivan recorded an extensive video interview now on the school’s website in which she said rugby was a perfect match for soldiers.
“Rugby is the best sport to play as officers because it is conducive to combat arms. It’s conducive to high intensity environments having to make quick decisions,” Sullivan said.
Rugby at West Point
Sullivan grew up in a family with deep military roots, beginning with her great-great-grandfather’s service in World War I. Subsequent generations of Sullivans served in World War II and Vietnam. Her father, Col. Michael Sullivan, was a Green Beret during the post-9/11 wars and commanded the 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade. Her twin brother is now an Army infantry officer.
Born in Tacoma, Washington, she spent time in Germany, Kentucky, Hawaii and California, but considers Fayetteville, North Carolina home.
“I’ve always wanted to serve but I thought it would be in an ROTC capacity,” Sullivan said about her decision to go to West Point.
It was there that her rugby career began.
Sullivan had been inspired to go to West Point by a family friend and originally tried out for their soccer team. After being denied a spot on the soccer team, Sullivan tried out for rugby her freshman year where she quickly fell in love with the sport. Sullivan graduated in 2020 as one of only three women in the Computer Science major that year, according to an Army West Point website.
Subscribe to Task & Purpose today. Get the latest military news and culture in your inbox daily.
LeClerc said Sullivan had a natural athletic ability along with a fiery passion and a lot of determination. “She was just good at things you don’t have to coach,” he added.
Sullivan still holds the record for West Point Women’s Rugby all-time try scoring record. During her four years, Sullivan scored 84 tries and 3 conversions to total 426 points.
As her college coach, LeClerc said he was proud to see her in action and play the game alongside teammates that she used to compete against at West Point.
By her third rugby game at West Point, Sullivan was a starter on the team, according to the Army. Sullivan said she started her freshman year because she was fast and could “decently catch a ball.” During her college career, Sullivan became a three-time All-American and won the 2019 Prusmack Award for top female collegiate rugby sevens player.
LeClerc said she was a “good kid” with a big heart who was a “goofball” at times.
He recalled a practice where he told Sullivan that she looked different that day. “I’m wearing makeup today, coach. I just wanted to feel like a girl,” he recalled Sullivan say. “She was just Sammy,” he added.
“Everything you see is what you’re going to get,” he said. “I’m super proud of her.”
Even before her Olympic success, in Sullivan’s eyes, the sport not only defined her time at West Point, but changed who she was.
“Being on the rugby team was, I would say, arguably the thing that shaped me the most here that made me the person I am today,” Sullivan said in her taped interview.
LeClerc echoed the same sentiment, adding that the game gives players a sense of purpose and ultimately affects the way they hold themselves and how others see them.
“It changes everything. It changes your confidence. It changes how people look at you and it changes how you project yourself,” LeClerc said. “The game is the one that sort of did that. I just really introduced her to the game and helped her to understand some of the basics. After that, it was really her taking it as far as she could take it and it was pretty special today to see her.”
During her time at West Point, Sullivan served as the Brigade Trust Captain where was responsible for overseeing the academy’s Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment prevention program.
Last second victory
In Paris, Sullivan was a central member of the American team, though the U.S. was not expected to medal against traditional powers like France, New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and others.
But the team won twice in early games, with Sullivan scoring tries in both, and qualified for the bronze medal game against Australia. The Americans trailed for nearly the whole game and appeared to be pinned on their own side of the field in the final seconds when Team USA’s Alex Sedrick took a loose ball, avoided a tackle and sprinted the length of the field to score as time expired, tying the match at 12.
Sullivan had been subbed out of the game, but as her teammates celebrated, cameras caught Sullivan yelling to “shut up” as the team lined up for a final winning kick. Sedrick’s conversion kick was good and Team USA took home the bronze.
“I’m not gonna lie. It wasn’t really expected,” LeClerc said. “Sports is brutal when you see things like that. I mean just on the knife’s edge like that. I’m sitting there watching it and I was like ‘man they’re not gonna get out of this.’”
The latest on Task & Purpose
- Marine recruit arrives at boot camp with glorious mop top
- Navy sinks USS Tarawa in latest Pacific SINKEX
- A USS Eisenhower pilot became the first American woman to score air-to-air kill
- Special Forces Assessment and Selection: Everything You Need To Know
NORAD sent 3 different fighters to intercept Russian and Chinese bombers