BERKELEY – With the qualification of the U.S. National 7s Team for the 2016 Summer Olympics following its victory Sunday at the North American/Caribbean regional qualifying tournament, the University of California congratulates Golden Bear Danny Barrett and his USA teammates for earning their way back to the Olympic Games, where 10 Cal alumni represented their nation at the last two Summer Olympics to include rugby – 1920 and 1924 – both of which ended with gold medals for the United States.
The United States defeated Canada, 21-5, in the NACRA final to qualify for Rio.
“We are always proud to see our graduates compete on the world stage in rugby," said Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Williams. “Rugby is the oldest intercollegiate sport on our campus and the team’s coaches and student-athletes have done a tremendous job building a successful legacy here. This is yet another step in building on that legacy and we wish Danny tremendous success as a member of Team USA in next summer’s Olympic Games in Rio.”
Team USA will compete in a two-day, seven-a-side competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro with a chance to earn medals that could emulate the golds that Americans brought home from the 1920 Games in Antwerp and the 1924 Games in Paris.
“We talk a lot about carrying on the tradition of the players and teams that came before you, but since 1924, with regard to the Olympics, that had not been in the realm of possibility until now,” said rugby head coach Jack Clark. “It’s an extraordinary accomplishment to qualify as one of only 12 nations in the world in the Olympic rugby format. We join all Americans to support the U.S. team on its quest for success under those five rings next summer.”
California student Colby “Babe” Slater was a two-time Olympic gold medalist at the 1920 and ’24 Games while nine other Cal players – George Davis, George Fish, Matt Hazeltine, Charles Mehan, Charles Tilden and James Winston in 1920, followed by Ed Graff, George Dixon and Ed Turkington in 1924 – also earned Olympic gold.
Barrett, who graduated in 2013 as a four-time All-American who helped the Bears win their first national 7s championship at the 2013 Collegiate Rugby Championship before signing a residency contract with the United States Olympic Committee, could feature for Team USA at the 2016 Rio Olympics, which will follow the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England, the third-most-watched sporting event in the world and another international stage that figures to include several alumni of Cal rugby.
As the sport continues to thrive on these international platforms, so too does the American collegiate rugby competition continue to grow across the nation in both 7s and 15-a-side play, making opportunities for today’s student-athletes in the sport of rugby more plentiful than ever in the history of the game.
