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Kelly Griffin

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Kelly Griffin
http://www.teamusa.org/News/2016/August/02/How-The-US-Womens-Rugby-Team-Plans-To-Land-On-The-Podium-In-Its-Olympic-Debut
Kelly Griffin poses for a portrait at the U.S. Olympic Training Center on July 21, 2016 in Chula Vista, CA.
Date of birth (1986-11-07) November 7, 1986 (age 38)
Height1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
WeightTemplate:Unit weight

Medal record
Rugby Sevens
Representing the  United States
Rugby Sevens World Cup
Bronze medal – third place Moscow, Russia 2013
NACRA Women's Rugby Championship
Gold medal – first place North Carolina, USA 2015
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place Toronto, Canada 2015
Olympic Games
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil 2016

Kelly Griffin (born November 7, 1986) is an American rugby sevens player and Olympian. As a member of the United States women's national rugby sevens team, she won a bronze medal at the 2013 Rugby Sevens World Cup, and a silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games.[1][2][3] She was also captain of the United States Women's Rugby Sevens team for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[4]

Early Life and High School

Kelly Griffin was born and raised in Berkeley, California and played soccer and basketball starting at the age of 6.[5] She attended Berkeley High School in Berkeley, California, where she played basketball for coach Gene Nakamura, who called Griffin's 2003 team the group he was "most fond of" from his 24 seasons as head coach.[6]

Collegiate Rugby

Griffin moved from Berkeley to Los Angeles to attend UCLA in 2004, and her freshman she year joined the UCLA Women's Club Rugby team, known as the UCLA Bruin Rangers.[7] She helped lead UCLA to several national playoff appearances, and was named a USA Rugby AIG Women’s Collegiate All-American in 2007 and 2008. Additionally she was selected for the USA Rugby Under-23 team in 2006 and 2007.

Women's Premier League

After graduating from UCLA with an applied math degree in 2008, Griffin returned to the San Francisco Bay Area and joined the Berkeley All Blues Women's Rugby Club. During the 2011 season of the Women's Premier League, Griffin won the 7s National Championship with the All Blues and was named tournament Most Valued Player.[8] The All Blues also won the 2011 Women's Premier League Championship, with Griffin leading the league in tries scored.[8] Additionally, Griffin won the 2011 Women's All-Star National Championship with Pacific Coast team, rounding out her three championships in a six-month period.[8]

USA Rugby Eagles Women's Sevens

In early 2012, Griffin signed a full-time training contract with USA Rugby, and along with 7 other women, became the first professional female rugby players in the United States.[9] Griffin moved to Chula Vista, California to train at the Olympic Training Center with the rest of the contracted 7s players. From 2011/2012 on, Griffin has played in the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series, captaining the USA team for several tournaments. Additionally, going into the 2016 Olympic Games, Griffin leads the country in appearances on the World Sevens Series Circuit,[10] and is the only athlete of the "original eight"[9] to have remained in residency throughout the four-year lead up to the 2016 Olympics.

In addition to the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series, Griffin competed with the USA Eagles Sevens at the 2013 Sevens World Cup in Moscow. After an undefeated campaign in pool play, the USA went on to claim the bronze medal by beating Spain in sudden death overtime 10-5 in the 3rd place match.[3]

In June 2015, Griffin was selected as captain of the USA Women's Sevens team for the North American and Caribbean Rugby Association Championship, which also served as an Olympic qualifying tournament. The USA would win the NACRA gold medal, and also qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio by beating Mexico 88-0 in the Championship game.[11]

In July 2015, Griffin competed as part of Team USA at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. The United States women's 7s team lost to Canada in the gold medal match, leaving the tournament with sliver.[12][13]

On July 18, 2016, Griffin was named as a member of the USA Women's Olympic Rugby Team,[14] which will compete in the Rio 2016 Olympics, the first Olympics Games to include women's rugby. Griffin was later announced as the team's captain for the Olympics Games.[15]

Competitive History with the USA Eagles Women's Sevens

World Rugby Women's Sevens Series

Women's Sevens World Cup

NACRA Women's Sevens Championship

Pan America Games

Olympic Games

References

  1. ^ "Kelly Griffin". Toronto2015.org. 2015 Pan American Games. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  2. ^ "TeamUSA Rugby at the 2015 Pan American Games". TeamUSA.org. United States Olympic Committee. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Eagles claim third place victory with thrilling sudden death try". Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  4. ^ "USA Rugby Names 2016 U.S. Olympic Women's Rugby Team". Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  5. ^ "Rugby Legend Phaidra Knight Interviews Team USA Star Kelly Griffin". Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  6. ^ "Nakamura's final hurrah". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  7. ^ "UCLA Club - About Us-Women's Rugby". www.uclaclubsports.com. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  8. ^ a b c "Kelly Griffin". USA Rugby. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  9. ^ a b "The Breakdown: Women's Rugby News". The Breakdown: Women's Rugby News. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  10. ^ "Get to know Team USA's Women's Rugby Sevens squad". Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  11. ^ "Griffin Queen of NACRA 7s - Video". 2015-06-15. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  12. ^ "Team USA Takes Home Silver And Bronze In Pan Ams Rugby Sevens". Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  13. ^ "Eagles selected for Canada, Pan American Games in Toronto". Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  14. ^ "USA Rugby Names 2016 U.S. Olympic Women's Rugby Team". Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  15. ^ "Meet Olympian Kelly Griffin". Retrieved 2016-08-03.
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