Australia has missed out on a women’s rugby sevens medal in heartbreaking fashion after back-to-back defeats on Wednesday morning, stunned by Canada 21-12 in the semi-finals before losing in the bronze medal match 14-12 to the USA after a last-gasp try.

Australia blew a 12-0 lead against Canada – and a shot at the gold medal in Paris – in what Sean Maloney described as “the biggest upset in recent memory” in commentary.

The Australians got off to a fast start as Maddison Levi scored her first try of the tournament, getting early ball on the left sideline in a one-on-one opportunity against Charity Williams.

Williams showed her the outside and Levi willingly took it, outpacing her rival to race away and score as Australia took a 7-0 lead.

That quickly became a 12-0 buffer as Sariah Paki brushed off a tackle to score and looked to be taking that lead into the break at minimum, with a chance to score at the death.

Instead, Canada regained possession and Williams caught the Australia defence napping as she ran away to score and reduce the deficit to 12-7 despite a valiant chase from Levi.

Canada looked a strong chance of at least tying it up when a string of passes created an opportunity out on the left sidelined but a brilliant one-on-one tackle from Bienne Terita saved the day.

But it didn’t take long for Canada to strike as Asia Hogan-Rochester scored next to the posts after Australia committed to the driving maul, leaving space open on the edge.

That gave Canada a 14-12 lead and then Teagan Levi turned it over deep in Australia territory.

Canada then iced the victory as Piper Logan stepped through the defence and was able to get the ball down despite a last-ditch tackle from Levi, desperately trying to make up for her mistake.

In the final, Australia once again were in front after Maddison Levi scored two more tries, taking her record-breaking haul to 14, four more than the previous best by any Olympics competitor.

But it was not enough as the US responded with tries from Alev Kelter, when Levi’s sister Teagan was in the sin bin, and Alex Sedrick to make it 12 points apiece.

The latter try was an end-to-end run through the heart of the Australian line as time expired, with Sedrick’s conversion delivering the US a stunning bronze medal.

In more heartbreak for the Australians, Sariah Paki dropped a wayward pass near the line in a golden chance to score earlier in the match.

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Australia women’s coach Tim Walsh said: “They’re devastated. They’ve put a lot into it.

“Everyone is [devastated]. The staff are. But we got to hold our heads high. We came into this tournament to walk away without regret in terms of our preparation.

“Every single one of them have done that. So, they can be proud.

“They’re going to be disappointed obviously but I’m proud of them.”

After the match, captain Charlotte Caslick fought back tears as she said: “It sucks. We played our hearts out that’s the beauty of sevens and sport that’s why we play it, it’s a game of moments.

“And there’s probably a few things we would’ve loved to do differently but we can’t take that back so I’m just really proud of the girls.”

New Zealand claimed a gritty 19-12 win over Canada in the gold medal match, scoring three tries to two despite going a player down when superstar Portia Woodman-Wickliffe saw yellow for a high tackle.

New Zealand had defeated the US 24-12 in their semi-final.

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AUSSIES CLAIM GOLD, BRONZE AS MCKEOWN DEFENDS CROWN!

An emotional Kaylee McKeown has defended her 100m backstroke gold medal, her first gold of the games.

McKeown set a new Olympic record ahead of American rival Regan Smith, the world record holder and a rising star in the pool.

McKeown charged home to win after turning in fourth position, finishing with an Olympic record 57.33s. She becomes just the fourth woman to defend an Olympic swim gold. Fellow Aussie Iona Anderson finished fifth.

In the final race of the day, the Australian men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team claimed bronze in a stunning performance. On paper, the Aussies were seen as little chance of claiming a medal, but the team of Max Giuliani, Flynn Southam, Elijah Winnington, and Thomas Neill raced brilliantly to finish third behind GB and the USA. Great Britain made history as the first relay team to defend gold with the identical line-up.

It was particularly impressive from Winnington, who was racing just minutes after his 800m freestyle final, in which he finished eighth.

Aussie duo Shayna Jack and Mollie O’Callaghan qualified second and third-fastest respectively for the women’s 100 metre freestyle final, while Kyle Chalmers qualified second-quickest for the men’s 100m freestyle final. He won his heat after a scintillating late blitz to touch home in 47.58s. There was also a nice moment as Aussie William Yang earned a late call-up to the semi-finals. Yang qualified 17th fastest to miss out by one place, only for another athlete to pull out and give him a spot!

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FOX FIRES INTO SEMIS

Australia’s flag bearer Jessica Fox has comfortably reached the semi-finals of the C-1 (canoe) category of the canoe slalom, qualifying second-fastest after two strong runs overnight.

Fox went down in 100.05s despite some troubles with gate seven in her first run – behind only Czech Gabriela Satková, the top-ranked qualifier with 99.44s.

“It’s a good run,” father Richard said on commentary for Channel 9.

“She’ll have enjoyed that.”

Fox had more trouble on gate seven in her second run, hitting the poles and earning a two-second penalty. Knowing she had already guaranteed a spot in the semis, she cruised to the line rather than pushing hard. Her second run time of 103.10 was quickest of all competitors in their second attempts.

The semifinals begin on Wednesday night (AEST), with the final set for 1:25am on Thursday. Fox is hoping to claim a historic sixth Olympic medal and defend her gold from Tokyo.

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KOOKABURRAS FALL SHORT TO CHAMPS

Australia’s Kookaburras fell 6-2 to reigning men’s hockey gold medallists Belgium in a rematch of Tokyo’s heartbreaking final defeat, which Australia lost only in a penalty shootout.

Belgium took an early 2-0 lead before Australia responded a minute before halftime with a long shot from Lachie Sharp. But just seconds before the halftime break, Tom Boon scored a controversial – but brilliant – goal for Belgium to take a 3-1 lead. He flicked it into the air before lashing it into the net past an Aussie head. A video review deemed it was acceptable.

The Kookaburras had plenty of the ball as the match wore on, and a few penalty corner chances went begging, before Belgium blasted clear with a host of goals. Tom Boon finished with a hat-trick for Belgium in the big win.

Australia play New Zealand and India later this week to round out the pool stage, and will hope to meet Belgium again in a medal match.

‘SO DANGEROUS AND CRAZY’: SURFING POSTPONED AS AUSSIE RESCUED

Meanwhile, the surfing has been postponed due to brutal conditions in Tahiti which yesterday saw Aussie surfer Jack Robinson needing to be rescued from drowning.

Robinson lost controlled in round three and experienced a terrifying experience which he described to reporters afterward.

“I want to say (this is) the most dangerous sport in the world when it’s like that,” Robinson said.

“I got dragged over the bottom and almost had a two wave hold under. I didn’t get much air. There wasn’t much time. I got reminded of so many guys who have had so many bad wipe-outs here.

“Every other sport is in a court or a stadium,” Robinson added. “We are in an ocean. It is the biggest, most powerful source of life we have on this planet.

“The waves are so powerful. It doesn’t relate to any other sport. Maybe an avalanche coming down on your head on a mountain. Maybe it’s similar to that. It’s so dangerous and so crazy.”

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It’s not the only event to be postpoend. There’s bad news for triathlon fans – and Aussie duo Matthew Hauser and Luke Willian. The men’s triathlon, which was set to start at 4pm AEST, has been postponed a day due to poor water quality in the Seine.

GIDDEY SHUT DOWN IN SECOND HALF OF BOOMERS LOSS

Elsewhere, the Boomers were run down by a fast-finishing Canada team, losing the second game of their Paris Olympics campaign 93-83 on Tuesday night (AEST).