From Alberta town of 2,000 to playing in front of 69,000: Vulcan rugby player's journey to an Olympic silver medal

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Growing up in the small southern Alberta town of Vulcan, Keyara Wardley dreamed of playing in front of large crowds at the Olympics.

In Paris late last month, Wardley did just that.

The 24-year-old was part of the Team Canada women’s rugby sevens squad that played in front of close to 70,000 fans at the Stade de France and won a silver medal. Fifth-ranked Canada made it to the gold medal game by upsetting No. 2-ranked Australia 21-12 in a July 30 semifinal matchup before losing 19-12 later that day to the defending champions, New Zealand.

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Eight years earlier, a teenage Wardley had watched Team Canada win a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, inspiring her to work towards earning a medal as a rugby player.

“It’s been shocking, especially coming from Vulcan and playing in front of not many people at home, and then being on the world stage,” said Wardley. “It’s almost as if you get stage fright, but it’s also exciting and fun to play in front of that many people.”

It’s been a long three years for Wardley, who fractured a hip during the Tokyo Summer Olympics, delayed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and last year had anterior cruciate ligament surgery, which took her nine months to recover from.

“I wanted to prove to myself that I could go to the Olympics again,” said Wardley.

Wardley, who plays as a centre or wing, just happened to make her Olympic return in Paris against Fiji, who Team Canada had played when she suffered her injury in Tokyo.

“Unfortunately, I was also going through another injury before the (Paris) Games even started, so I didn’t get to play the full tournament, but got to step on for the semifinal and the final game,” said Wardley who was dealing with a “little issue” with her left knee, the same one she had ACL surgery on, and a calf injury.

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“That was a pretty amazing moment, just knowing that I worked so hard to get there and prove that injuries are just a short-term thing.”

After the final whistle blew against Australia, the Canadian players including Wardley spotted their families and many hugs were given, knowing they had at least secured silver.

“It was a surreal moment,” said Wardley, wearing her medal around her neck during her phone interview with Postmedia. “I still have goose bumps talking about it.”

Wardley now lives and trains in Victoria, where the national team is headquartered, but returned last Saturday to Vulcan, about 90 kilometres southeast of Calgary, when a parade was held so the town of about 2,000 residents could celebrate the two-time Olympian’s silver medal with her. An estimated 350 to 400 people, including many youth, came to meet Wardley.

The former Vulcan resident hopes she can be a role model for local kids to pursue rugby or another sport at the highest level.

“It’s such a full-circle moment, because I never really had that growing up,” she said.

When Wardley was a kid, she used to dream of becoming an Olympian, not knowing at that time it would be as a rugby player, said Lise Wylie, Wardley’s mom.

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“She wanted to play Team Canada volleyball,” said Wylie, who lives in Vulcan, best known for its association with the Star Trek universe.

While Tokyo was Wardley’s first Olympics, it was on the other side of the planet and no fans could attend due to COVID-19 restrictions, so the Paris Olympics served up a much better opportunity to celebrate Wardley’s achievements, said her mom.

“This was the big deal because family can come, friends can come. She can share everything with everyone here back home.”

Vulcan Mayor Tom Grant called Wardley, who also took her silver medal to a long-term care home, a “great ambassador” for Vulcan, Alberta and Canada, and for rugby.

“We’re very blessed to have somebody that is able to carry on the torch for our community,” said Grant.

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