Photo Credit: Michael Lee / KLCFOTOS
Rugby is one of the most underrated sports in the Olympics and generally in mainstream American media. In countries such as Europe, rugby is very popular but in the United States, it really has yet to take off. At the Olympics this year, the women’s rugby team placed fifth which  gave the sport a lot more publicity. One of the key members of the team was Jillion Potter who has an inspiring story worth spotlighting!
Even though Potter is only 30 years old, she has already had to overcome so much. She attended La Cueava High School where she played basketball. After high school, she attended the University of New Mexico and graduated in 2009 with a degree in Exercise Science. She was introduced to rugby at her college orientation and made the team. Six months later, she was selected to the Women’s Junior All-Americans which is a team made up of the best female rugby players from across the country under the age of 20.
After being selected in her first year, Potter continued in the High-Performance Development Pathway before she would become a member of the professional team. She became a member of the Women’s Eagles in 2007 and took the team to the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2013 where they won bronze.
In 2010, Potter was injured during a game against Canada. The diagnosis was a broken neck that could have left Potter paralyzed and she assumed she would never play again. However, like a true champion, less than a year later, Potter was back on the field. Â Her return to the field was bittersweet. In 2013, she would discover a tumor in her mouth. She learned it was a rare Stage III synovial sarcoma. After chemotherapy and radiation, she eventually made her way back to the field and earned a spot on the U.S. Women’s Olympic Rugby team.
Potter credits her positive attitude to her wife, Carol Fabrizio. The two met because of rugby in 2011 and were married in 2013.  Potter has an odd obsession with brushing her teeth. She’s so obsessed that her wife now carries dental floss with her in case Potter needs it. With women’s rugby making its first appearance in the Olympics, Jillion Potter is an awesome symbol for the team.
