The Ireland rugby sevens campaign came to a disappointing end on Tuesday evening, as Team GB got the better of the Girls in Green in the 7th/8th place playoff at the Stade de France.
Ireland had progressed from the group stage as one of the best third-placed teams, having recovered from an opening defeat to Great Britain in style with a rout of South Africa in their second game.
However, a heavy defeat to Australia in the quarter-finals left them in the 5th-8th place playoffs, and they would ultimately play in Tuesday night's playoff for 7th place against Great Britain.
Though Ireland fell to defeat in their final game in Paris, one heroic moment has captured the imagination of Olympic viewers around the world.
READ HERE: Here's Every Gold Medal Won By Ireland At The Olympics
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Crazy Ireland rugby sevens Olympics clip goes viral
A TikTok clip from Ireland's 7th-place playoff against Team GB went viral overnight on Tuesday.
In the clip, Emily Lane leaps to claim a high ball from a British kick-off. Lane is supported by teammate Erin King, flipping backwards and almost tumbling over King's shoulder before being miraculously caught and flipped back upright.
This is absolutely insane. pic.twitter.com/UQYnd3Mh96
— QUAN (@QuannyNitro) July 30, 2024
The angle at which Lane finds herself is almost a full 180 degrees off-centre, with her head pointed directly at the ground at one point. The strength shown by King to ensure her teammate safely returned to the ground had sports fans around the world in awe.
The original TikTok clip has over 7 million views and over 600 thousand likes, while the video has also garnered over 20 million views on Twitter.
One Twitter user shared a longer clip of the incident at full speed, even better displaying the remarkable skill involved in the lift and catch.
I found a longer version of the clip: pic.twitter.com/YDeGrrrWEZ
— ً (@tylerduran21) July 31, 2024
Incredible snapshots of the incident were also shared on Instagram by ESPN.
View this post on Instagram
Fans have lauded the athleticism on show in the clip, with many comparing the strength of King and Lane to the feats of Olympic gymnasts and wrestlers.
I love, love, love that my insta and twitter feed has just become people discovering Ilona Maher, women's rugby or even just rugby all together over the last few days.
It is the game they play in heaven for a reason 😇 #RugbySevens https://t.co/36LcLo6p8z— Brittany Mitchell (@BrittMitchell11) July 31, 2024
First woman ever to win a medal for rugby and gymnastics simultaneously. https://t.co/21tGmjNCCn
— Ben Van Der Velde (@VanderLaugh) July 31, 2024
If I ever did anything half this athletic it would be the only thing I talked about for the rest of my life https://t.co/xo1I0JTzHN
— Jin Jiyan Azadî 🇵🇸 (@jessesgwozniak) July 31, 2024
Number 11 is Erin King😍
She's a fucking beast.
Also, welcome to the absolute insanity that is rugby 7s. Lol https://t.co/hnKey1Zrwl— Agony Christie (@_AgonyChristie) July 31, 2024
This is a level of functional strength that doesn't make any damn sense to me. https://t.co/ybyExIodcw
— Finn (@FinnsLane) July 31, 2024
Even though the result may not have been what they would have hoped for from the Olympics, it's fair to say that the Irish team made their mark on the rugby sevens event.
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