Rising star Hannah Darling retires from Canadian women’s rugby sevens team

TORONTO — Hannah Darling, a rising star in Canadian rugby sevens and a member of the bronze medal-winning team at the Rio Olympics, has retired from the national team.

The 22-year-old from Warsaw, Ont., made the announcement Sunday via social media.

“After a five-year whirlwind I’ve made the decision to retire from the Canadian team. Many things have led to my decision of moving back home to Ontario,” she wrote without elaborating.

“I will never take for granted the opportunities I’ve been lucky enough to part take in,” she added. “I hope to move forward while continuing to inspire the younger generation and helping people with their own personal struggles.”

In a recent interview, Canada coach John Tait said Darling had stepped away from the sport “for personal reasons” and was going back to school.

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At her best, the five-foot-eight Darling was one of Canada’s weapons at restarts, able to soar in the air for the ball.

In a February 2017 interview, Tait said the sky’s the limit for Darling.

“Hannah, I think, is going to be in another couple of years time one of the best players in the world if she keeps on the track she’s on,” he said. “She’s phenomenal in the air and an aggressive tackler.”

Darling was introduced to rugby at the age of 14, rising from club to provincial to national level in three years. She represented Canada at the 2014 Hong Kong Invitational Sevens, making her World Series debut the following week at the Guangzhou Sevens.

She helped Canada win the first-ever women’s rugby gold medal at the Pan Am Games at Toronto in 2015.

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press