Olympic success brings big boost to some lesser-known sports

Team USA’s success in the Olympic Games earlier this summer is already having an impact on sports fields and gyms across the country, especially on what have historically been less popular sports. Amna Nawaz reports.

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Amna Nawaz: There are still a couple of more days before the close of the Paralympics, but Team USA’s success in the Olympic Games earlier this summer is already having an impact on sports fields and gyms across the country, especially on what have historically been less popular sports.

It’s the first practice of the season for the D.C. Furies, one of the oldest women’s rugby clubs in the country. Players lace up, run drills, and dodge tackles. A typical training for the Division 1 club, but this year is different, says Furies president Liz Linstrom.

Liz Linstrom, President, D.C. Furies Rugby: I’m actually a little concerned that incoming prospective players are going to outnumber current club members right now.

Amna Nawaz: In fact, she says, about half the women who showed up tonight are brand-new to the club.

Liz Linstrom: Some had played before and taken a long break. Some folks had never played a sport before, let alone rugby.

Amna Nawaz: It’s a change that Linstrom traces directly back to this moment, when the U.S. women’s team beat rugby powerhouse Australia to win bronze at the Summer Olympics.

Liz Linstrom: Rugby in America is so much further behind rugby in the rest of the world. So we were definitely underdogs in that. To be playing for a medal was impressive in itself. But then to actually walk away with a bronze medal, and the first ever, I think was really, really special.

Amna Nawaz: It is the U.S.’ first rugby medal in a century, since the men’s team won gold back in 1924.

The appeal of women’s rugby is unique says Kat Aversano, vice president of Women’s Elite Rugby USA.

Katherine Aversano, Vice President, Women’s Elite Rugby USA: We take big hits, we give big hits, and don’t have any padding. So you can see the joy on everyone’s faces and you can see the impact directly on the athletes. And that’s the kind of human connection that people want and that we really enjoy out of athletes and sport.

Amna Nawaz: Team USA’s success on the field this summer was magnified online, when center Ilona Maher went viral on social media.

Ilona Maher, U.S. Olympic Athlete: Rugby is the best sport in the world, best sport in the world. I am sore all the time, constantly.

Amna Nawaz: With funny takes on life as an Olympian interspersed with body-positive messages.

Ilona Maher: From the smallest gymnast to the tallest volleyball player, from a rugby player to a shot putter to a sprinter,truly see yourself in these athletes, and know you can do it too.

Amna Nawaz: Since the Olympics, Aversano, who used to play and coach rugby, has seen a spike in interest at all levels of the sport.

Katherine Aversano: Every college team I have talked to, they’re looking at two or three times their normal interest for the first couple of practices. Youth and high school has a massive influx of questions. Where do I find my local club? How do I get involved? What are — what are ages can my kids play at?

Amna Nawaz: But it’s not just women’s rugby that has inspired new audiences.

Greg Patterson’s gym in Woodbridge, Virginia, has seen a recent influx of inquiries for its boys gymnastics teams.

Greg Patterson, Youth Sports Gymnastics: So, normally, on average, we’d be getting maybe two to three phone calls a week looking for boys programs. And now were averaging almost 15 a week.

Amna Nawaz: This year, the U.S. men’s gymnastics team, usually overshadowed by their women counterparts, rose to fame largely because of one athlete, Stephen Nedoroscik, known as the pommel horse guy. He became famous for his pre-competition routine and Rubik’s Cube skills.

Nedoroscik won bronze in his event and helped the U.S. men win their first team medal in almost two decades.

Greg Patterson: People can look and say, yes, if he does stuff like I do, like he does Rubik’s Cube, and he’s a gamer just like me, so they can sort of relate to him, as opposed to somebody up there who they see with big muscles that works out 10 times a week.

Amna Nawaz: Twelve-year-old Gabe Hall and his younger brother, Hayden, got a kick out of seeing their sport in the headlines.

Gabe Hall, Gymnast: It felt good because our sport was getting recognized.

Hayden Hall, Gymnast: Yes, it was really cool because gymnastics is like — not many people know about it, well, at least men’s gymnastics.

Amna Nawaz: Their gymnastics journey began during the pandemic on their backyard trampoline.

Hayden Hall: I like it because you can get strong, you can get flexible. There is so much you get to work on and so many skills that you get to do.

Amna Nawaz: The brothers now train four times a week and aim to one day make the Olympic team.

Coach Patterson, a former collegiate gymnast, says he hopes this moment will lead to more funding for the sport at the college level. Since 1981, in fact, NCAA Division 1 men’s gymnastic programs have dwindled from 59 to just 12 today.

Greg Patterson: There’s so few colleges that have options for boys to continue their gymnastics career. It’s very hard for them to get in. I’d like all the boys to continue to grow with what they have started with the grassroots here.

Amna Nawaz: Women’s rugby too is hoping to capitalize on this moment. The country’s first women’s profession rug league launches next year.

Katherine Aversano: Arm in arm with our fellow sisters in sports, the other women’s leagues, NWSL, PWHL, WNBA. Women’s sport is — it’s not having a moment. It’s a movement.

Amna Nawaz: A movement she hopes will bring home even more medals in future Olympic Games.