Levi backing Australia's sevens 'sisters' for gold in Paris

MELBOURNE : If Australia grabs another Olympic gold medal in rugby sevens at Paris, the highlights reel may well be dominated by Maddison Levi burning off defenders on her way to the try-line.

The 22-year-old Queenslander has been a juggernaut since the Tokyo Games, tearing up try-scoring records in the SVNS world series to help Australia return to the peak of the game.

She scored a hat-trick in Madrid last Sunday against Olympic hosts France in the global circuit's inaugural 'Grand Final' to finish the season with an incredible 69 tries.

The tally destroyed her previous women's record of 57 from the 2022/23 season and came despite being suspended for a slew of matches for high tackles.

Rival coaches will be furiously plotting how to shut her down at Paris where Australia will be among the strongest contenders.

Levi says they are welcome to try.

"With pressure I think we perform a lot better," she told reporters in Sydney. "I feel like they’ll definitely be looking to shut me down but that’s the beauty of having that team around me.

"If I’m not scoring tries there's four other girls on the other edges that do such an amazing job. If I can set up or help them score, then that's my job done."

Professional women's sport has developed rapidly in Australia in recent years, giving elite female athletes unprecedented choice.

Courted by several sports, Levi played a season of top flight Australian Rules football in 2021 for the Gold Coast Suns before committing to the national rugby sevens programme.

She was a surprise pick for the Tokyo Olympics squad at the age of 19 but Australia's title defence ended in the quarter-finals.

Levi and her talented kid sister Teagan were instrumental in the team's rebound in the following year to