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Sarah Levy (rugby union)

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Sarah Levy
Date of birth (1995-12-27) December 27, 1995 (age 28)
Place of birthCape Town, South Africa
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker, winger, centre, or prop
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
San Diego Surfers ()
New York Rugby Club ()
Barbarians F.C ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
 United States
National sevens team
Years Team Comps
 United States
Medal record
Women's rugby sevens
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Paris Team competition

Sarah Levy (born December 27, 1995) is an American rugby union and rugby sevens player, who plays the wing position in the fifteens, and plays hooker, winger, centre, or prop in the sevens.[1][2] At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Levy competed on the bronze medal-winning team for the United States.

Early life

Levy was born in Cape Town, South Africa, to a South African father, Denis Levy, and an American mother, Susan, and is Jewish.[3][4][5] Her father played rugby, and her great uncle played rugby for Western Province.[6][7] Her paternal great-grandfather Louis Babrow, an opponent of South African apartheid, played for the South Africa national rugby union team in the 1930s.[7][6][4] He was one of the first Jews to play for the Springboks.[4]

Levy and her family made aliyah and moved to Israel when she was two years old, and then moved to San Diego, California a few years later, where spent the remainder of her childhood.[4][1][7] There, she attended pre-school at the San Diego JCC, attended a San Diego synagogue, and taught and went to camp at a JCC.[5][8] She competed in soccer at the 2010 and 2012 JCC Maccabi Games.[5] She celebrated her bat mitzvah in Israel.[8] In high school, she played soccer, track, cross country, and golf.[6]

She studied at Northeastern University, graduating in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Health Science.[1][6] Levy then studied at the University of Saint Augustines in San Marcos, California, earning a doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2023.[1][9] For one year she worked at a physical therapy clinic in Connecticut.[6][5]

Rugby career

Levy started playing rugby for the first time at 18 years of age at Northeastern University, for whom she played rugby union and rugby sevens.[1][6][7] She played for the San Diego Surfers and the New York Rugby Club (the oldest United States rugby club) rugby union clubs of the Women's Premier League.[4][1] She also played for the British-based invitational Barbarians F.C (for which her great-grandfather had also played).[7][10][11]

In late 2018, Levy was invited to play for USA Rugby’s fifteens team, the USA Women's Eagles.[6][1] Shortly thereafter, she earned her first cap against England.[1] She then switched to rugby sevens after being invited to the U.S. sevens camp, and while she plays the wing position in the fifteens, she plays hooker, winger, centre, or prop in the sevens.[1][6][7] In 2022, she was invited to USA Sevens Residency, and she debuted in the 2022 World Rugby Sevens Series in Malaga, Spain.[1][7] That year she also began working with coach Zack Test, a former Olympian and the US team's assistant coach.[8]

2024 Paris Olympics

Levy competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics as part of the United States women's national rugby sevens team.[1][12][3] At the time, Team USA was fourth in the world rankings.[6] The team won its first two matches, defeating Japan and Brazil, and qualified for the quarter-finals, with Levy scoring in her first match.[13] The team went on to win the bronze medal.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Sarah Levy | Player Profile | USA Eagles". eagles.rugby. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  2. ^ "Cape Town-born Sarah Levy shines in the international rugby arena". Cape Jewish Chronicle. February 1, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Dan Shapiro (December 16, 2021). "From Team JCC to Team USA — Professional Rugby Player Sarah Levy," Lawrence Family JCC.
  4. ^ a b c d e Saul Kamionsky (December 2, 2021). "SA-born rugby star helps beat the Boks," South African Jewish Report.
  5. ^ a b c d Evelyn Frick (July 23, 2024). "18 Things to Know About Jewish Rugby Player Sarah Levy," Hey Alma.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Ian Thomsen (July 18, 2024). "Sarah Levy seeks an Olympic gold medal 10 years after she fell in love with rugby at Northeastern," NGN Magazine.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Jaime Uranovsky (February 1, 2022). "Cape Town-born Sarah Levy shines in the international rugby arena," Cape Jewish Chronicle.
  8. ^ a b c Jacob Gurvis (July 26, 2024). "Sarah Levy’s great-grandfather faced a Yom Kippur rugby dilemma, she’s playing in the Olympics," The Jerusalem Post.
  9. ^ "Sarah Levy". teamusa.com. March 1, 2024. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  10. ^ "Sarah Levy stars as Barbarians set attendance world record". Americas Rugby News. November 28, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  11. ^ Marc Bazeley (November 27, 2021). "Barbarians women rout South Africa at Twickenham as Sarah Levy scores hat-trick of tries". Sky Sports.
  12. ^ Peene, Sam (June 17, 2024). "TEAM USA ANNOUNCES WOMEN'S OLYMPIC RUGBY SEVENS TEAM FOR PARIS 2024". olympics.com.
  13. ^ Philip Bendon (July 28, 2024). "Impressive USA Sevens Secure Unbeaten Start To Olympic Campaign In Paris," FloRugby.
  14. ^ "2024 Olympics: U.S. women's rugby sevens wins first bronze medal, stunning Australia with try as clock expires". CBS Sports. July 30, 2024. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
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