Dietrich Roache

Dietrich Roache went from having never played a game of Rugby sevens in 2018, to an Olympian by 2021.

The 22-year-old from Western Sydney grew up playing Rugby League and had great success, playing as a halfback for Patrician Brothers College, Fairfield. In 2018, Dietrich attended the Sydney sevens with his father and fell in love with the sport. Following the event, Dietrich worked tirelessly to learn the game and adapt his skills from Rugby League to Sevens.

Dietrich played in several domestic youth events and became a key member of the Sydney U18s and NSW U18s, representing each team as an outside back.

His performances led to his selection for the Australian youth Sevens team which travelled to New Zealand for the 2019 World Schools 7s tournament. The Australian team made the playoff stage of the tournament before being eliminated in the semi-finals. Despite the loss, Dietrich had impressed selectors, leading to the offering of a contract by Rugby Australia the following year.

Dietrich debuted for Australia on the biggest stage at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He went  on to have a successful debut tournament, scoring a try in his second match against South Korea. The Australian team would unfortunately get knocked out of medal contention following defeat against Fiji in the quarter-finals, ultimately finishing in 7th place after beating Canada 26-7.

In the years after the Tokyo Olympics, Dietrich continued to improve and became a constant in the Australian team.

In the 2021-22 Rugby Sevens World Series, Dietrich scored 343 points, the most of anyone in the squad, as Australia went on to win the competition for the first time. From there Dietrich featured for the team at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games where he was once again the youngest in the squad.

Australia just missed out on a bronze medal, going down to New Zealand 26-12. Dietrich once again shone, leading Australia in points throughout the tournament with a try and seven conversions from his six games.

Dietrich has continued to feature for Australia heading into the Paris Games, playing in the revamped SVNS World Series. He has also played some 15 a-side rugby for his local club Western Sydney Two Blues, playing two matches in the 2023 Shute Shield.

At Paris 2024 Dietrich played a part in the men's rugby sevens team's best-ever finish at an Olympic Games.

After going undefeated against Samoa (21-14), Kenya (21-7) and Argentina (22-14) in the pool stage they booked a spot in the semi-finals with an 18-0 shutout of the USA. The Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Fiji side awaited in the quarter-finals, where the Aussie's run was halted with a 7-31 loss.

There was another chance at a medal in the battle for bronze against South Africa hours later, with South Africa winning 26-19 to put Australia in fourth place.