Japan's Ano Kuwai will make history this summer as the first to have both played and refereed in Olympic rugby, the sport's international governing body said Wednesday.
World Rugby announced the squad of 23 match officials for the men's and women's rugby sevens competitions at the Paris Olympics with Kuwai Japan's sole representative.
Kuwai, who was part of the Sakura Sevens team at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, will officiate in the women's event at Stade de France.
"My goal has been to stand on the pitch at an Olympics ever since I switched from being a player to a referee three years ago," the 34-year-old from Hokkaido said in a statement through the Japan Rugby Football Union.
"I'll do my best to bring out the top performances of players."
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