Charlotte Caslick, captain of the Australian rugby sevens team, swiftly removed a social media post where she was seen enjoying a night out just hours after her team experienced a devastating last-minute loss that denied them a medal.
A visibly emotional Caslick has been reflecting on the team’s semifinal defeat to Canada on Tuesday, followed by a last-second try from the USA that left the players in tears and without a chance for a bronze medal.
On Wednesday, she shared a picture of herself at a nightclub, surrounded by male friends, with the caption ‘4th on it but always 1st off it,’ seemingly alluding to their fourth place finish at the Olympics.
However, the 29-year-old, who received an Order of Australia Medal for her contributions to sport in 2017, quickly deleted the post.
Prior to that, Caslick had shared images from the heartbreaking loss, stating, ‘Heartbroken and real f**king sorry but always proud to represent Australia with these girls.’
The recent world series champions and gold medallists from the Rio Olympics had confidently advanced into Tuesday’s semifinals, aiming for a highly anticipated match against New Zealand, the Tokyo title holders.
But during a hot day with temperatures soaring into the 30s, a moment of distraction altered the course of their entire campaign.
Canadian player Charity Williams emerged as the unexpected hero, catching the Australian defense off guard to score a surprising try, resulting in one of the biggest upsets of the Games.
Australian rugby sevens skipper Charlotte Caslick posted – then soon deleted – this controversial Instagram update shortly after her team’s emotional exit in Paris.
The star athlete is captured moments after her team let go of their chance for a bronze medal following a last-second loss to the USA.
Australia initially led with a score of 12-0, but the 21-12 defeat left the shaken team scrambling for bronze against the USA less than three hours later.
Once again, Australia took the lead but allowed the USA to equalize. With the score tied at 7-7, they were pressing the USA’s defensive line in the game’s dying moments before Maddison Levi’s try, her second of the match and a record 14th for the tournament, seemed to secure a consolation medal.
However, in a surprising turn, Alex Sedrick spun out of a tackle and sprinted 85 meters, converting her own try, igniting celebrations for the USA while further deepening the disappointment for Tim Walsh’s squad.
The USA had previously bested Australia during the Tokyo pool stages, which also saw Caslick’s team miss out on medals after a stunning defeat by Fiji in the quarterfinals.
Yet this latest loss, following such a successful tournament run and impressive lead-in performances, stung particularly hard.
‘I’m feeling pretty gutted,’ Caslick expressed.
The Australian rugby players were seen in tears following the shocking loss to the USA.
Aussie players comforted by crowd members after going from being gold medal favorites to leaving Paris without any medals.
‘That’s the essence of sevens and sport; it’s what drives us.
‘It’s a game of pivotal moments, and there are many things we would have preferred to change, but those choices are now in the past.
‘It’s disappointing, obviously; we strive to return home with a medal, as we are the ones who train daily to face this kind of heartbreak.’
Their campaign motto was ‘no regrets,’ yet Coach Tim Walsh emphasized that there were none, labeling fourth place as ‘cruel’ to categorize as a failure.
‘Victory and defeat; they are merely deceivers, and you need to treat them with the same perspective,’ Walsh quoted Rudyard Kipling’s poem ‘If.’
With his contract up for renewal, Walsh is considering his future and acknowledged that the try just before halftime against Canada was a decisive moment in their campaign.
‘It’s a mix of winning and learning… a little bit of each,’ he reflected.
‘I wish we had done more winning; it would have marked a much better conclusion to the season.’
New Zealand subsequently compounded the pain, coming back from a 12-7 deficit to clinch the gold medal with a 19-12 victory, successfully defending their title.
