Kristi Kirshe (/ˈkɜːrʃi/ KUR-shee; born October 14, 1994)[1] is an American rugby sevens player who has played for the U.S. Women's Rugby Sevens team since January 2019.[2] Kirshe also played one season with the Rocky Mountain Experts of Premier Rugby Sevens.
| Date of birth | October 14, 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 160 lb (73 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Franklin High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Williams College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Kirshe started her rugby career with 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.[2] She played in both the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, where she won a bronze medal as a member of the U.S. Women's Rugby Sevens team.[2][3]
Early life
editKirshe was introduced to soccer from a young age, playing with the Franklin Youth soccer program at 4 years old.[4] Both of her parents, Greg Kirshe and Kathleen Kirshe, played soccer for Cornell.[4]
Throughout childhood and young adulthood, Kirshe played a wide variety of sports. She was the quarterback on her Pop Warner football team and played soccer, basketball, and lacrosse for Franklin High School.[4] Her senior year, the soccer team won the state championship.[4]
College career
editAlthough Kirshe attended several Division I soccer camps, she ultimately decided to attend Williams College, where she hoped she'd find a better balance between school and sports.[4]
While at Williams, Kirshe broke several Williams College records, including the records for goals in a single season and career wide goals.[5] Kirshe also won several soccer awards, including the NESAC 2016 Player of the Year Award.[6]
Rugby career
editAfter graduation, Kirshe began working at Boston based law firm Ropes and Gray.[5] Kirshe soon found herself missing the thrill of competitive sports and decided to try rugby at the behest of Grace Conley, a high school teammate of Kirshe's and a rugby player at Boston University.[7] While initially reluctant, Kirshe began playing rugby in spring 2018 for the Boston Women's Rugby Club.[7] Within 6 months, Kirshe realized she was capable of playing rugby professionally.[5]
U.S. National Sevens Team
editKirshe made her debut with the U.S. Eagles sevens team in Sydney in 2019.[8] In 2021, she competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[9][10][11][12][13] In 2022, She was again selected for the United States to compete at the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town.[14][15][16] In 2024, she competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and won a bronze medal.[3]
Premier Rugby Sevens
editKirshe played for the Women's Experts during PR7s inaugural season in 2021.
References
edit- ^ "KERSHE Kristi". Olympics.com. 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Kristi Kirshe". eagles.rugby. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
- ^ a b "US women's rugby team shocks Australia for historic bronze medal". NBC Connecticut. July 30, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Dan Cagen. "High School Notebook: Franklin's Kirshe a shooting star who rose fast". Milford Daily News. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ a b c McGovern, Jack. "Kristi Kirshe '17 earns bronze medal with USA Eagles". The Williams Record. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ "Women's Soccer All-NESCAC Teams Announced". nescac.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ a b Grabowski, Kyle. "Franklin's Kristi Kirshe a blueprint for USA rugby ahead of 2nd Olympics appearance". Milford Daily News. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ "USA Women's Sevens Preview: HSBC Sydney Sevens 2019". January 21, 2019.
- ^ "KRISTI KIRSHE, RUGBY". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020.
- ^ McCarron, Heather. "Going for gold. Franklin's Kristi Kirshe competing with women's rugby team at Tokyo games". Wicked Local. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
- ^ "Franklin's Kristi Kirshe Goes from Novice to the US Olympic Rugby Team in 2 Years". NBC Boston. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
- ^ Weitzer, Nate (June 18, 2021). "Franklin's Kristi Kirshe named to US women's rugby Olympic roster - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
- ^ "A Rugby Newcomer Pursues Her Olympic Dream". www.wbur.org. February 28, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
- ^ "USA women's 7s for Spain announced". planet7s.com.
- ^ "USA names rosters for Sevens World Cup". Americas Rugby News. September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
- ^ Cahill, Calder (September 1, 2022). "Women's Eagles Sevens target podium chase as roster is named for the Rugby World Cup Sevens". eagles.rugby. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
