BLYDE Michaela

Date of Birth: 29 Dec 1995

Age: 25

Gender: Female

Height (m/ft): 1.65/5'4''

Place of birth: NEW PLYMOUTH

Birth Country:

New Zealand

Place of residence : TAURANGA

Residence Country:

New Zealand

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Rugby Sevens	Women NZL New Zealand	1

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Tokyo Stadium	Women's Pool A #W06 NZL New Zealand 29 KEN Kenya 7	Finished
	Tokyo Stadium	Women's Pool A #W11 NZL New Zealand 26 GBR Great Britain 21	Finished
	Tokyo Stadium	Women's Pool A #W18 NZL New Zealand 33 ROC ROC 0	Finished
	Tokyo Stadium	Women's Quarter-final #W21 NZL New Zealand 36 ROC ROC 0	Finished
	Tokyo Stadium	Women's Semi-final #W30 NZL New Zealand 22 FIJ Fiji 17	Finished
	Tokyo Stadium	Women's Gold Medal Match #W34 NZL New Zealand 26 FRA France 12	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Rugby World Cup Sevens

Rank	Event	Year	Location
1	Women	2018	San Francisco, CA, USA

World Rugby Sevens Series

Rank	Event	Year	Location
1	Women	2020
1	Women	2019
1	Women	2016/2017
2	Women	2018

World Rugby Sevens Series - Australia

Rank	Event	Year	Location
1	Women	2020	Sydney, NSW, AUS
1	Women	2019	Sydney, NSW, AUS
2	Women	2018	Sydney, NSW, AUS
3	Women	2017	Sydney, NSW, AUS

World Rugby Sevens Series - Canada

Rank	Event	Year	Location
1	Women	2019	Langford, BC, CAN
1	Women	2018	Langford, BC, CAN
1	Women	2017	Langford, BC, CAN

World Rugby Sevens Series - Dubai

Rank	Event	Year	Location
1	Women	2018	Dubai, UAE
1	Women	2016	Dubai, UAE
5	Women	2017	Dubai, UAE

World Rugby Sevens Series - France

Rank	Event	Year	Location
1	Women	2018	Paris, FRA
1	Women	2017	Clermont-Ferrand, FRA
2	Women	2019	Biarritz, FRA

World Rugby Sevens Series - Japan

Rank	Event	Year	Location
1	Women	2018	Kitakyushu, JPN
1	Women	2017	Kitakyushu, JPN

World Rugby Sevens Series - USA

Rank	Event	Year	Location
1	Women	2018	Glendale, CO, USA
1	Women	2017	Las Vegas, NV, USA
3	Women	2019	Glendale, CO, USA

Occupation:

Languages spoken:

Bay of Plenty [New Zealand]

Allan Bunting [national], NZL; Cory Sweeney [national], NZL

Position style:

Forward (americasrugbynews.com, 29 May 2017)

Sporting relatives:

Her mother Cherry played rugby union [15-a-side] for New Zealand, and her father Steve played rugby union at provincial level in New Zealand for Taranaki. Her brother Liam has played rugby sevens for the Taranaki Bulls in New Zealand, and her partner Aidan Ross has played rugby union for New Zealand club the Chiefs in Super Rugby. Her great-grandfather Sir Henry Blyde was a prominent businessman in New Zealand. (clubrugby.co.nz, 30 Oct 2013; chiefs.co.nz, 09 Nov 2019; porttaranaki.co.nz, 20 Sep 2019; nzherald.co.nz, 12 Dec 2019)

Other sports:

She has played rugby union [15-a-side] at provincial level in New Zealand. (clubrugby.co.nz, 30 Oct 2013)

She suffered a lower leg injury in November 2019 and was out for two months. (nzsportsnewsonline.com, 22 Nov 2019)

She began playing rugby at age 16 at New Plymouth Girls' High School in New Zealand. (iam.protective.com, 01 Jun 2019; stuff.co.nz, 28 Dec 2018)

"My mum was working at the Taranaki Rugby Union when the New Zealand women's sevens trials were starting and told me to try out. I was playing football at the time but was excited to give a new sport a go." (iam.protective.com, 01 Jun 2019; stuff.co.nz, 28 Dec 2018)

To win a gold medal at the Olympic Games. (stuff.co.nz, 28 Dec 2018)

"I'm most proud of being a part of the team that won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the [2018] World Cup. Two pinnacle events in one year and winning gold at both is something I'll forever cherish. Especially because I had my parents in the crowd for the Commonwealth Games and my partner in the crowd for the World Cup." (iam.protective.com, 01 Jun 2019)

New Zealand rugby union [15-a-side] player Ben Smith, New Zealand canoeist Lisa Carrington. (allblacks.com, 04 Jun 2015)

Her parents. (allblacks.com, 04 Jun 2015)

In 2018 she was named Best Women's Sevens Player of the Year at the New Zealand Rugby Awards. (nzherald.co.nz, 16 Dec 2016)

She was named World Rugby Women's Sevens Player of the Year in 2017 and 2018. (nzherald.co.nz, 16 Dec 2016)

She was named Impact Player of the Series for the 2016/17 World Series. (allblacks.com, 17 Mar 2018; inmotion.dhl, 29 Jun 2017)

General Interest

General
RIO DISAPPOINTMENT
She was a travelling reserve at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and says she was disappointed to not play. She did not stay in the Olympic Village and spent most of the competition sitting in the stands. "I try not to think about it because my number one goal for 2016 was to make the Olympic team. To miss out because of one person's opinion or because of a player being fitter than me or something, it was quite gutting. No athlete trains that hard for four years, and moves away from their family, to be a travelling reserve. It sucked." (stuff.co.nz, 28 Dec 2018; stuff.co.nz, 05 Jul 2017)

MOTHER'S INFLUENCE
She says her mother is the main inspiration for her career. "I always said to myself that I wanted to follow her footsteps in playing for New Zealand in rugby, and to say that I've done that now is very humbling and I'm very proud to represent her last name. [Now] it's part of our job to try to inspire the younger generation to try and fight for that black jersey, whether it's 15s or sevens." (nzherald.co.nz, 16 Dec 2016)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal
:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

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