New Zealand’s two-time Olympic rugby gold medalist Woodman-Wickliffe…

New Zealand’s two-time Olympic rugby gold medalist Woodman-Wickliffe…

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand women’s rugby star Portia Woodman-Wickliffe is retiring for a second time at the age of 34.

The two-time World Women’s Player of the Year who gained gold medals in rugby sevens at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics announced her resolution Thursday.

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Woodman-Wickliffe got here out of a brief retirement to play for New Zealand’s Black Ferns at the Women’s World Cup in Britain last 12 months.

“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to represent my country, my iwi (tribe), my hapū and my whānau (family) one last time on the World Cup stage, a moment I will cherish forever,” she said in a statement. “As I step into this next chapter of my life, I feel both excited and a little nervous, but I’m ready.”

Woodman-Wickliffe excelled at observe and netball before switching to rugby in 2012, competing at Rio de Janeiro in 2016 when rugby sevens turned an Olympic sport for the first time. New Zealand gained the silver medal that 12 months.

Her father and uncle each had been All Blacks.

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She performed 241 occasions for New Zealand on the World Sevens Series, scoring 256 tries and in 2020 was named the women’s sevens participant of the earlier decade.

Woodman-Wickliffe was also a member of New Zealand groups which gained the Rugby World Cup in 2017 and 2022.

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

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