Rugby sevens made its Olympic debut in 2016.
The sport appeared at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where both men’s and women’s tournaments were held. Fiji won the men’s gold medal, defeating Great Britain 43–7 in the final. The result gave Fiji its first Olympic medal in any sport and made its sevens team a landmark champion.
Australia won the first Olympic women’s rugby sevens title in Rio, beating New Zealand 24–17 in the final. Rugby sevens uses seven players per side and is played in two short halves, making it suitable for a compact multi-event schedule.
Rugby union had previously appeared at the Olympics in 15-a-side form, most recently in 1924. The modern Olympic return came through sevens rather than the traditional 15-player game. Rugby sevens remained on the program at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.