On July 30, the U.S. women’s rugby team captured the bronze medal in a buzzer beater moment against Australia at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Former Dartmouth women’s rugby player Ariana Ramsey ’23, who graduated from Dartmouth in 2023 as a fifth-year senior, helped lead the team to victory.
Ramsey said winning the bronze was a “feeling of relief.”
“We finally did everything we talked about — we did everything we said we were going to do,” she said. “It was just a feeling of relief and pure joy and excitement.”
While at Dartmouth, Ramsey served as the women’s rugby team captain, which she said taught her to be a “team leader.” She was named Dartmouth team MVP in 2022 and MVP of the 2022 NIRA Division Championship, where she scored both Dartmouth tries in the 15-10 win over Harvard.
Ramsey’s former Dartmouth teammate Abbey Savin ’24 praised Ramsey for being “hardworking, dedicated and spirited.”
“When you watch videos of her scoring, there’s never a big show or a big parade — she does what she needs to do,” Savin said. “We’re not successful if we’re not keeping our heads down and staying humble and putting in the work, and [Ramsey] modeled that behavior really well for us.”
Working with “someone at [Ramsey’s] level” taught Savin about the “attitude and mindset” she needs to advance through higher levels of rugby, she added.
Li’ua Tengan ’25, who joined the rugby team as a sophomore during Ramsey’s fifth year, recounted a time when Ramsey ran into her as she was feeling overwhelmed by practice and homework.
“She just was there to make sure I was all right,” Tengan said. “She was always there for everyone to hype people up … to motivate folks and also someone to lean on.”
Ramsey’s skill and character were on international display for Team USA in Paris. On July 28, the team began its first day of competition with a 36-7 landslide victory against Japan and continued its dominant streak to defeat Brazil 24-5. The following day, the United States beat France 31-14 and claimed a 17-7 win against Great Britain in the quarterfinal.
In the semifinal on the last day of competition, the United States fell 12-24 to New Zealand, which went on to win the gold medal. In the bronze medal match, the United States beat Australia in a nail-biting 14-12 to capture its first Olympic medal in women’s rugby 7s and the first for Team USA rugby since the men’s gold in 1924.
Savin said she was excited to see the team win bronze as women’s rugby — “an amazing sport” that “makes a space for everyone” — becomes more “mainstream” in the United States.
“Having, particularly the women, be so successful [is] a launching pad for the sport,” she said. “I hope … there [are] little girls at home that … say, ‘[Rugby] looks fun. I want to try it.’”
Along with teammates such as Ilona Maher, who has more than 125.7 million likes on TikTok, Ramsey often posts popular rugby-related videos. After the Olympic competition ended, Ramsey went viral on the social media platform TikTok for her videos humorously commentating on the benefits of free healthcare at the Olympics.
Ramsey said she was inspired to advocate for universal free healthcare after she received services including dental care and eyecare for free as an Olympic athlete.
“My goal is just to learn more about healthcare and why it’s privatized the way it is in the United States,” Ramsey said. “A lot of teams and associations have been reaching out to me about it, so I’m interested to do those actionable steps, like voting for people who are advocating for universal health care.”
As she reflected on her Olympic achievements, Ramsey noted how close she came to never starting rugby.
“At my high school there was a club fair, and the rugby team told me about rugby, and I didn’t plan on signing up because I had no idea what rugby was,” Ramsey said. “One player was so excited and encouraged me to join. It was really fun. My coach saw how good I was, and he invited me to national camps, where I got scouted by USA Rugby.”
Ramsey previously participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She noted the unique ambiance surrounding the 2024 Olympics after the prior games had been disrupted by COVID-19.
“The Paris Olympics were definitely my favorite because it was way more open to the public,” Ramsey said. “We got the whole experience in terms of getting the Olympic team gear, and we could interact with each other more. I got to meet Simone Biles, Snoop Dogg and fellow Dartmouth Olympian Billy Bender.”
Ramsey said she “definitely plans on attending” the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“I’ll be training for the next four years for that,” she said.
