Tokyo 2020: emergency medical technician turned US women’s rugby captain looks to help Eagles find Olympic glory

Abby Gustaitis remembers having a rather unpopular conversation with her parents in 2015. Set to graduate from the University of Maryland, a short drive northwest from Washington, D.C., she was primed to enter medical school in the hope of becoming a doctor. Instead, she decided to play sevens rugby, which at that point was about as fringe as sports in the US could get.

Gustaitis, 28, said her mum was anything but happy.

“She was not pleased,” Gustaitis said with a chuckle. “I was the first person in my family, immediate or extended, to go to university, so it was a big deal to my family that I pursed an education in the first place so they were super proud of me graduating.”

What must have felt like a hare-brained decision at the time has turned out fine for Gustaitis, who has compiled an impressive career with the women’s team which includes her co-captaining the side which sits fifth in World Rugby Sevens Series 2019-20 season after five legs.

“So it was a bit of a slap to the face,” she said about the initial conversation some five years ago. “You know, ‘Scratch that, I’m sort of going to go do the opposite and go hit some people and toss a ball around.’ But in the end they’ve come to love the sport and have travelled to watch me play and they’ve fallen in love with it, and are super excited to watch me achieve this dream.”