Hayden Sargeant

Hayden Sargeant was born in Grafton, New South Wales but now proudly calls the Gold Coast his home. His path to the national Rugby Sevens team has been far from smooth sailing, however the journey has put him in good stead ahead of the Olympics.

Hayden began playing Rugby at the age of four, after being encouraged to give the sport ago by his neighbour. He played his junior rugby for the Surfers Paradise Dolphins as well as reprinting The Southport School where he would develop into a versatile outside back.

Hayden unfortunately encountered a big setback at just 15 years of age when he tore his ACL, sidelining him for an extended period of time.

Despite the injury Hayden would not lose sight of his goals and continued to strive towards his dream of representing Australia, crediting his parents support for getting him through the challenge of the injury at a young age.

Hayden's perseverance payed off in 2017 when he was selected to play for the Melbourne Rebels at the Super U20s championship. Despite Melbourne falling short of the final, Hayden impressed against New South Wales, with a scintillating 40-metre runaway try showing his speed.

Hayden's performances led to his selection in the junior Wallabies squad in 2018, with the matches played at his senior clubs home ground at Bond University.

Hayden continued to play for Bond in the Queensland Premier Rugby competition, despite a stint with the Sunnybank Dragons for three seasons.

He play the 15 a side game for Bond, but also worked at transitioning his game to sevens. However, after being rewarded with a development contract with the Australian Sevens program, the COVID-19 pandemic would occur, putting his dream on hold.

Hayden once again remained resolute and in March of 2023, he stormed into the Australian squad for the Los Angeles Sevens, after being named as a late inclusion to cover for injury.

Hayden played every game of the tournament in which Australia finished in fourth place. Unknown to Hayden, his father Stu and brother Beau made the trip to Los Angeles to surprise him at the competition.

Hayden's strong showing meant he retained his place in the squad for the Vancouver Sevens where the improving Australian team claimed third place.

Outside of Rugby Hayden has been studying a Bachelor of Construction management at Bond University, while he also enjoys surfing in his spare time. He was also the captain of a young Australian Oceania Sevens team.

At Paris 2024 Hayden 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.