Olympic preview: the tale of the tape
The Olympic motto is “Citius, Altius, Fortius” – “Faster, Higher, Stronger”, and with the help of Selina at French women’s rugby website Rugby au Feminin we thought we’d look at a rugby 7s equivalent, “youngest, tallest, heaviest”, and how much any of those matter.
Published by John Birch, August 6th, 2016
4 minute read
Youngest and Oldest
Followers of Women’s Sevens may be not too surprised to learn that Spain are the oldest team at the Rio Olympics, with an average age of just over 29 – despite including teenager Amaia Erbina in their squad. However, it is a slight surprise to see that Australia are not the youngest – that honour goes to New Zealand.
Team
Average age
New Zealand
24y 6m
Japan
24y 11m
Colombia
25y 3m
Australia
25y 4m
Canada
25y 10m
Fiji
26y 7m
France
27y
Brazil
27y 4m
Great Britain
27y 5m
United States
27y 6m
Kenya
28y 6m
Spain
29y 3m
As for the players, there will be five teenagers playing in Rio this weekend, and two over 35s - the USA’s Carmen Farmer and Colombia’s Nathalie Marchino are nearly twice the age of Japan’s Ai Nakamaru and Fiji’s Merewai Cumu.
Oldest players
Youngest players
1
Carmen Farmer (USA)
35y 8m
Ai Nakamaru (JPN)
18y 11m
2
Nathalie Marchino (COL)
25y 1m
Merewai Cumu (FIJ)
18y 11m
3
Vanesa Rial (ESP)
34y 5m
Terina te Tamaki (NZL)
19y 3m
4
Berta Garcia (ESP)
34y 4m
Amaia Erbina (ESP)
19y 5m
5
Yuka Kanematsu (JPN)
34y 2m
Charity Williams (CAN)
19y 10m
Height
Although there is very little correlation between age and seeding, the same cannot be said for height. The four smallest teams are also the four lowest ranked in the tournament, with Colombia on average nearly 8cm shorter than the USA. And Spain one of the tallest - quite a surprise:
Team
Average height (m)
Colombia
163.3
Japan
163.7
Kenya
164.1
Brazil
165.3
France
166.1
Canada
167.5
New Zealand
168.3
Fiji
169.1
Spain
169.2
Australia
169.8
Great Britain
170.4
United States
171.2
As for the individuals, two of the tallest five players are British, and two of the smallest are Brazilian. However the tallest player in Rio is also the oldest, the USA’s Carmen Farmer. If France had selected Jessy Tremouliere in the main sqaud, instead of as a reserve, she'd be equal third (just behind another farmer's daughter) and the French average height could have gone up by a centimetre.
Tallest players
Shortest players
1
Carmen Farmer (USA)
1m 85
Edna Santini (BRA)
1m 53
2
Emily Scarratt (GBR)
1m 81
Yume Ohkuroda (JPN)
1m 55
3
Chloe Dalton (AUS)
1m 80
Huriana Manuel (NZL)
1m 55
4
Joanne Watmore (GBR)
1m 79
María Camila Lopera Valle (COL)
1m 56
5
Jillion Potter (JPN) &Kelly Russell (CAN)
1m 78
Paula Ishibashi (BRA)
1m 56
Weight
Player weight also correlates to team seeding, almost as much as height, with again the four lowest ranked teams being also the lightest. As well as being the tallest two teams, the USA and Great Britain also the heaviest,
Team
Average weight (kg)
Colombia
61.3
Japan
61.8
Kenya
62.8
Brazil
62.9
France
66.1
Canada
66.6
New Zealand
66.9
Fiji
68.5
Spain
69.6
Australia
70.1
Great Britain
70.3
United States
71.3
Colombian captain Alejandra Betancur is close to twice the weight of team-mate Estefanía Ramírez , and Brazil’s Edna Santini
Tallest players
Lightest players
1
Alejandra Betancur (COL)
90kg
Edna Santini (BRA)
53kg
2
Shakira Baker (NZL)
85kg
Estefanía Ramírez (COL)
53kg
3
Carmen Farmer (USA)
82kg
Pauline Biscarat (FRA)
54kg
4
Kelly Russell (CAN)
82kg
Amanda Araújo (BRA)
54kg
5
Rusila Nagasau (JPN)
80kg
Mifuyu Koide (JPN)
54kg