Former Fresno State Bulldog, Olympic bronze medalist, talks rugby

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - Former bulldog, and USA women’s Sevens Rugby player, Stephanie Rovetti helped marque past this week, erstwhile the squad won a bronze medal successful their crippled against Australia for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“It's a elephantine stadium afloat of thousands of radical and it's truthful loud. But conscionable knowing that you person your family, you know, and your friends retired there, it's conscionable similar a spot of calmness and enactment and emotion that similar keeps you grounded successful that moment,” Rovetti said.

Rovetti grew up playing basketball, the athletics she played portion attending Fresno State.

She says it wasn’t until her sister mentioned rugby, that she had immoderate involvement successful playing the athletics that would yet bring her to marque a historical Olympic win.

“The full rugby assemblage was truthful welcoming. So, astatine property 26 erstwhile I got into it, it was similar specified an casual pathway to conscionable benignant of similar descent into,” Rovetti said.

She was coaching hoops successful San Diego erstwhile she joined a nine rugby team.

 That’s erstwhile the wide manager for the USA rugby squad saw immoderate imaginable successful Rovetti.

“At that time, they were transitioning to a caller manager and truthful she's like, hey, similar I privation to bring this girl. She has a batch of potential. I privation to spot benignant of what you tin bash successful a nonrecreational grooming environment,” said Rovetti.

After 3 months of showing her skills, and training, she officially joined the team. Fast guardant to July 30, and the hard enactment paid off.

“I deliberation it truly came to life, that crippled with truthful galore ups and downs and conscionable truly keeping our composure and staying with each other, connecting with each different and conscionable an unthinkable finish,” she said.

Rovetti hopes the triumph volition animate aboriginal generations.

“We privation to turn rugby, we privation to exposure rugby, we privation to springiness opportunities to small girls that privation to prosecute immoderate sport,” she said.

As Rovetti cruises done France, she shares a peculiar message.

“All my emotion to Fresno, I’m dying for immoderate ‘Dog House’ fries, but I person to walk done there. But yeah, I admit each the enactment and everything.”