Paris Olympics: What to know and who to watch during the rugby sevens competition

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Toulouse’s Antoine Dupont celebrates with the trophy after the European Champions Cup rugby union final between Leinster and Toulouse at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)

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Toulouse’s Antoine Dupont kicks the ball clear during the European Champions Cup rugby union final between Leinster and Toulouse at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)

A roadmap to follow for the rugby sevens competition at the Paris Olympics:

Athletes to Watch

—Antoine Dupont, France: The 27-year-old scrumhalf is one of the world’s best rugby players. He has been turning his attention to the condensed sevens format of the sport this year with the aim of winning an Olympic gold medal on home soil.

—Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, New Zealand: An Olympic champion and the all-time leading scorer in the women’s world sevens series — scoring a 250th career try during the Singapore Sevens in May. She won a gold medal in Tokyo, offsetting the bitter disappointment of a loss to Australia in 2016 when rugby sevens made its Olympic debut at Rio de Janeiro.

—Ilona Maher, United States: She was one of TikTok’s breakout stars of the Tokyo Olympics, where she posted while wearing a red, white and blue bucket hat. Maher uses a #beastbeautybrains campaign and hopes her videos spread body image positivity and bring more attention to the sport.

—Jerry Tuwai, Fiji: The mercurial playmaker is one of the greats of the sevens game. He has won two Olympic gold medals, a World Cup sevens title and, in 2020, was voted rugby sevens player of the decade. He spent a long time on the sidelines before being recalled in May and being included in an extended 15-man squad for Paris.

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Storylines to Follow

—Antoine Dupont says he “got involved in this Olympic project” to win a medal. In his first two tournaments playing in the sevens world series he helped France to a bronze and a gold. The victory in Carson, California in March was a first title in 19 years on the men’s sevens world circuit for the French. Then he helped France to its first world series championship at Madrid on June 2. Can he repeat in Paris?

—Fiji’s first-ever Olympic gold medal was delivered by the men’s rugby sevens team at Rio in 2016, when the sport made its debut at the Summer Games. It was a just reward for a nation where the game is entwined in the social fabric. Not surprisingly, the men’s team delivered another gold in Tokyo. A third straight Olympic title is more of a long shot, with Fiji failing to win a stop on this season’s world series tour.

—Australia and New Zealand have split the first two Olympic titles in women’s rugby sevens and have tussled for the top spot in the world sevens series this year. The Australians won the 2024 world series title with a victory last month in Madrid. But the gap is closing between the two longtime leaders and a chasing group that includes a French squad that will be playing on home soil and the U.S. women’s team that took a silver in the prestigious Hong Kong Sevens in April.

—Just competing in Paris will complete a remarkable comeback for Raquel Kochhann, who recovered from breast cancer, treatment and more than 1 1/2 years out of competition to return for Brazil in the world series in January.

Key Dates

The men’s tournament starts July 24, two days before the official opening ceremony, and concludes with the gold medal match on July 27. The women’s tournament will be staged July 28-30.

Reigning Champions

Men: Fiji.

Women: New Zealand.

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Olympic Hightlights

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FILE - South Africa’s Jacques Freitag competes in the men’s high jump of the 2004 Olympic Games, in the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Friday Aug. 20, 2004. Local media is reporting that South African police have discovered the body of former high jump world champion Jacques Freitag after he went missing last month. The reports said the 42-year-old, who won the 2003 world title in Paris and competed at the 2004 Olympics, had been shot. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

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FILE - Ilona Maher of USA is tackled by Sharni Williams of Australia in a semifinal of the Rugby World Cup 7’s championship held in Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022. The main task for Maher, the breakout social media star on TikTok at the Tokyo Olympics, is winning a medal in Paris. (AP Photo/Halden Krog, File)

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FILE - Jacques Freitag of South Africa waves his national flag after he won the Men’s high jump event at the World Athletics Championships, at the Stade de France in Saint Denis, north of Paris, Monday, Aug. 25, 2003. Local media is reporting that South African police have discovered the body of former high jump world champion Jacques Freitag after he went missing last month. The reports said the 42-year-old, who won the 2003 world title in Paris and competed at the 2004 Olympics, had been shot. (AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle, File)

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Sammy Sullivan of USA in action during HSBC rugby sevens series in Singapore, on May 4, 2024. The anthem played as Army officer Sammy Sullivan stood to attention and saluted beside her U.S. rugby teammates before a gold-medal game in Hong Kong against Olympic champion New Zealand. No prizes for guessing where her mind may have drifted to: Paris in July. (AP Photo/Suhaimi Abdullah)

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USA Water Polo Women’s Senior National Team attacker Ryann Neushul, left, trains at Long Beach City College Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, in Long Beach, Calif. Following in the footsteps of two older sisters who won gold with the U.S. women’s water polo team, Ryann Neushul is making her Olympic debut in Paris this summer. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

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Iranian wrestler Iman Mahdavi, 28, practices at the Lotta Club Seggiano gym, in Pioltello , northern Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

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FILE - Steven van de Velde of the Netherlands competes during the CEV Beach Volley Nations Cup Vienna 2022 men’s semifinal game against Austria at the Red Bull Beach Arena in Vienna, Austria, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022. Van de Velde, convicted and imprisoned eight years ago for raping an underage girl in England has qualified for the Paris Olympics. (AP Photo/Florian Schroetter, File)