Aussie great 'still in a little bit of shock' as reality sinks in for devastated sevens team
The devastation of Australia's women's sevens team was plain to see on the faces of the players.
They began day four at the Olympics as heavy favourites to take home a medal.
Most assumed it would be gold - or they would settle for silver.
READ MORE: McKeown turns fourth, storms home to win stunning gold
READ MORE: Tears, distress as brutal medal day denies Aussies
READ MORE: Aussie trio lays down gold warning in 100m free semis
When they suffered a shock loss to Canada in the semi final, it meant the Aussies would have to play for bronze.
And they had one hand on the prize when they led the USA with a mere seconds left on the clock in their playoff game.
Sevens star Charlotte Caslick in tears. Nine
Then Alex Sedrick broke a tackle from Teagan Levi and sprinted 80 metres downfield to stun Australia and leave the green and gold players in tears and shock.
The team's inspirational veteran Charlotte Caslick put on a brave face when speaking to Nine after the loss, but couldn't hold it together for long.
"Yeah obviously it wasn't our day. We didn't control possession like we know that we can," Caslick began.
Watch every moment, every medal of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now. Plus, every event streaming ad free, live and on demand with 4K on Stan Sport.
"But I'm really proud of the girls, they played their hearts out and that's all that we can ask for."
When the reality dawned on Caslick her next chance at an Olympic medal is four years away, she began to cry.
"A lot of these girls will go onto the next Olympics, and the home Olympics in 2032 and the sport's in very good hands," she said.
"They are brave and they leave their hearts out on the field, so I couldn't be any prouder.
"Tokyo we finished fifth, and now we've finished fourth, so it's better than that. We've had 23 podium finishes in the last three years, so to miss out on this one hurts.
"But we'll go again, that's the beauty of sport."
Former Aussie sevens star Chloe Dalton was as stunned as anyone to watch the team miss out on a medal.
"They did an incredible job. I'm feeling absolutely devastated for them and still in a little bit of shock," Dalton told Nine's Today.
"I can't imagine what they're feeling right now, trying to process what happened during that finals day.
"It's so difficult as a group (following the Canada loss), you've only got about three hours to try process what has happened and bounce back for a bronze medal match... they would have been in a real state of shock."
