Kenya's Rising Lionesses have made history after defeating Australia 17-12 in extra time to win the women's rugby sevens gold medal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, delivering the country's first-ever Olympic gold medal in a team sport.
The Kenyan youngsters overcame tournament favourites Australia in a dramatic final on Tuesday, November 3, at Complexe Iba Mar Diop in Senegal, with Mitchelle Chemtai scoring the decisive try in sudden-death extra time after the two sides were tied 12-12 at the end of regulation time.
The victory represents a major breakthrough for Kenyan sport, extending the country's Olympic success beyond individual disciplines and establishing a new milestone for women's rugby. It also made Kenya the first African nation to win rugby sevens gold at either the Olympic Games or Youth Olympic Games.
The achievement came after a determined comeback against an Australian side that had beaten Kenya 17-5 earlier in the competition. Australia had entered the final as favourites after completing the pool stage unbeaten, but the Rising Lionesses produced their strongest performance when the gold medal was at stake.
Australia opened the scoring through Darci Mackay before Kenya responded with a try from Zain Hido to take the teams into half-time level at 5-5.
The Australians regained control in the second half when Grace Buchanan crossed the try line to extend their advantage to 12-5. However, Billie Backus was subsequently sent to the sin bin, giving Kenya an opportunity to reduce the deficit.
Josephine Kerubo took advantage of the numerical advantage to score Kenya's second try before Diana Wanjiku converted to bring the scores level at 12-12 and force extra time.
With the match entering sudden-death play, Kenya capitalised on Australia's errors to launch another attack. The ball was moved across the field before Chemtai found space to score the winning try, sealing the historic victory.
Kenya's journey to the final had started with a 12-5 victory over China before the team thrashed hosts Senegal 19-0. Despite losing to Australia in their final pool match, the youngsters recovered to beat Madagascar 15-5 in the semi-final and secure a place in the gold-medal contest.
The triumph also marks an important development in the country's rugby history. Kenya's men's sevens side, Shujaa, previously reached the semi-finals of the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens before winning the 2016 Singapore Sevens tournament, while the Kenya Lionesses claimed the Africa Women's Sevens title in 2018.
However, the Rising Lionesses have now achieved a distinction no Kenyan team had previously managed at an Olympic event, becoming the first to claim gold on the Olympic stage.
World Rugby also highlighted the rapid development of the young players, noting that several members of the squad had only started playing rugby a year before the competition.
The victory comes during the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, which are being staged in Africa for the first time. Kenya's achievement therefore carries additional significance for the development and visibility of women's rugby across the continent.
With the gold medal secured, the Rising Lionesses have given Kenya a landmark sporting moment and demonstrated the potential of the country's emerging generation of women rugby players.
