A Massachusetts native who went from a small town to being in the Olympics, helping lead the team to Bronze.
Kristi Kirshe was born in Franklin, Massachusetts, about an hour outside of Boston. She is an American sevens rugby player. Kirshe went to Williams College, where she started playing rugby. This is where her rugby journey started.
After playing in college, she joined the Northeast Academy and Boston Rugby. From there, she was selected to join the Women’s Falcons at the Hokkaido Governor’s Cup in 2018 (Rugby Australia). She made her debut in the Sydney Sevens. Just one year later, she was in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Even though the team placed 6th during the Tokyo Olympics, Kirshe had firsts that made her a standout. During her first Olympic touch of the ball, Kirshe scored her first try. 90 seconds later, after getting her second touch, she then scored her second try. This helped lead the team to their first win in the Olympic Games.
Kirshe made another appearance in the Paris 2024 Olympics. This is where the USA team placed bronze. This marked the first medal in USA women’s rugby sevens. Kirshe played every minute of that final match, helping on both offense and defense.
Kirshe is still on the USA team and has been continuing to play and train. We are excited for her in training. We can’t wait to see what Kirshe does next in her career.