Kenya’s Rising Lionesses roar to historic Olympic gold

Kenya Rising Lionesses have made history at the Dakar Youth Olympic Games in Senegal.

The Rising Lionesses became Kenya's first team ever to win gold at any Olympics, stunning Australia 17-12 in the pulsating girls' sevens rugby final at the Senegalese capital.

It was Mitchelle Chemtai's try in extra time that broke the regulation time's 12-12 deadlock to power the Rising Lionesses to victory and historic moments.

Zain Hibo's try for Kenya cancelled Darci Mackay's try to go level 5-5 at the break.

Grace Buchanan then put Australia ahead 12-5 with a try that Billie Backus converted.

Backus was then sent to the bins after an infringement to allow Kenya to hit back with a try from Josephine Kerubo as Diana Wanjiru's conversion leveled 12-12 to take the match to extra time.

It's then that Chemtai struck to send Kenya into celebration.

It was a swift revenge from the Kenyan girls after Australia had beaten them 17-5 in their last Pool A match earlier in the day.

Kenya had swept past Madagascar 15-5 to reach the final of the girls’ rugby sevens on Tuesday.

The Australians, who topped Pool A, edged out the Czech Republic 19-10 in the other semi-final.

The Rising Lionesses have made history as the first Kenyan rugby team to reach a major world championship event final, be it World Rugby Championships, World Rugby Sevens or Commonwealth Games.

Kenya Sevens reached the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens semi-finals but lost to Argentina 12-0. Shujaa ended up as joint bronze medal winners with Samoa, who had lost to Wales 19-12. Wales went on to lift the title, edging out the Pumas 19-12 in the final.

Notably, the Kenya Sevens team won the historic 2016 Singapore Sevens title, but it was one of the legs in the 2015/2016 International Rugby Board (IRB), not the World Rugby Sevens Series.

The best the Kenya Lionesses sevens team has done is winning the Women's Africa Cup Sevens in 2018.

Kenya Lionesses have reached the Rugby Africa Women's Cup (15s) semi-finals four times, losing to South Africa on both occasions.

Micheal Mmboga touched down in each half, while another history-making Evalyne Afande supplemented the other try as the Junior Lionesses blew away Madagascar.

Afande launched the assault for Kenya with the first try before Mmboga beat the defenders on her first try as the Rising Lionesses led 10-0 at the break.

Madagascar hit back with a try from Sariaka Raveloarisoa but went unconverted, and the scores stayed 10-5 in favour of the Kenyan girls.

However, Mmboga put Kenya beyond reach and into the semi-finals with a clinical try off a scrum in Madagascar’s five-metre zone.

The Rising Lionesses completed their Pool A in second place after they lost to Australia 17-5 in the last match, but they had done enough to reach the semi-final, having thrashed hosts China 12-5 and Senegal 19-0.

It’s Afande who scored Kenya’s first try in Dakar as they beat China, where women’s sevens rugby was making its debut. Joy Murigi converted her own try; Kenya scored its other points.

Earlier, Kenya's Baseball team missed bronze by a whisker when they lost to Mexico 2-1 to finish fourth. Cuba was due to meet Chinese Taipei in the final.

Kenya lost to Cuba 2-0 in the semi-finals, while Chinese Taipei bundled out Mexico 2-1 in the other semi-final.

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