Abi Burton (born 9 March 2000) is an English

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. Burton represented Great Britain in rugby sevens at the

2020 Summer Olympic Games The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

and

2024 Summer Olympic Games ) , nations = TBA , athletes = 10,500 ''(quota limit)'' , events = 329 in 32 sports (48 disciplines) , opening = 26 July 2024 , closing = 11 August 2024 , opened_by = , stadium = Stade de France Jardins du Trocadéro and River Seine , summer ...

Early life

From

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins the ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, the daughter of Halifax Panthers and Bradford Bulls player Danny Burton and his wife Sarah. Her twin brothers Joe and Oli Burton both played for

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headi ...

Academy before Joe signed for Bradford Bulls. She was a school friend of professional footballer

Jamie Shackleton Jamie Stuart Shackleton (born 8 October 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays for club Leeds United. A versatile player, Shackleton can also play as a right-back, defensive midfielder, right midfielder or attacking midfielder. ...

. After completing her

A Levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

Hartpury College Hartpury University and Hartpury College, formerly Hartpury College, is a provider of further and higher education which describes itself as specialising in the "agriculture, animal, equine, sport and veterinary nursing" sectors. The university a ...

, Burton went on to graduate with a degree in Sport and Exercise Science from St Mary's University, Twickenham in 2023, having studied on a scholarship.

Career

Burton studied at

captained the U18 Hartpury side that won the

National Schools Sevens The Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens is an English rugby union sevens tournament, organised by Rosslyn Park F.C., that has evolved into the world's largest rugby tournament with some 9,500 boys and girls aged 13 – 19 competing annually from o ...

and came third in the 2017

Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament The Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament is an international rugby union tournament for 15-a-side youth teams which is held every year during the Golden Week holidays (29 April – 5/6 May) in Fukuoka prefecture, Japan. Participation ...

in Japan. Burton first played in the

Premier 15s The Premier 15s, currently known for sponsorship purposes as the Allianz Premier 15s, is the top tier of the women's English rugby union domestic league system run by the Rugby Football Union (RFU). The league was created mainly from teams in t ...

for

Gloucester-Hartpury Women Gloucester-Hartpury Women's Rugby Football Club is a women's rugby union club based in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England. They are the unified women's team of Gloucester Rugby and Hartpury University R.F.C. They were founded in 2014 and as of ...

. Burton captained the England women's national rugby sevens team in the

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.2019 Rugby Europe Women's Sevens Grand Prix Series The 2019 Rugby Europe Women's Sevens Grand Prix Series was the 2019 edition of Rugby Europe's annual rugby sevens season. The top placing non-core teams advanced to the 2020 Hong Kong Women's Sevens qualification tournament, and the two teams wi ...

. In September 2020, she joined

Wasps Ladies Wasps Women are a women's rugby union based in Acton, London, England. They were founded in 1984 and play in the Premier 15s. They are the women's team of Wasps FC, who are affiliated to Premiership Rugby team Wasps. They play their home matches ...

. In June 2021 she was confirmed in the Great Britain Rugby Sevens squad for the delayed

2020 Summer Games The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. In May 2023 Burton was awarded the Blyth Spirit award by the Rugby Rugby Players Association. In June 2024, she was named as a reserve for the British squad at the

2024 Olympic Games ) , nations = TBA , athletes = 10,500 ''(quota limit)'' , events = 329 in 32 sports (48 disciplines) , opening = 26 July 2024 , closing = 11 August 2024 , opened_by = , stadium = Stade de France Jardins du Trocadéro and River Seine , summer ...

. She was drafted into the team during the tournament when

Amy Wilson-Hardy Amy Wilson-Hardy (born 13 September 1991) is an English rugby union player. She made her debut for the England women's national rugby union team in 2013. She was selected as a member of the Great Britain women's national rugby sevens team to the ...

was withdrawn on medical grounds. The team finished seventh.

Personal life

Burton had a period of ill health in 2022 with

Autoimmune encephalitis Autoimmune encephalitis (AIE) is a type of encephalitis, and one of the most common causes of noninfectious encephalitis. It can be triggered by tumors, infections, or it may be cryptogenic. The neurological manifestations can be either acute o ...

spending 76 days in hospital including 25 days in a coma receiving plasma exchanges. She lost in weight and had to learn to walk and talk again, had seizures, and was initially misdiagnosed as experiencing psychotic episodes.

References

External links

* * * * 2000 births Living people 21st-century British sportspeople Alumni of Hartpury College Alumni of St Mary's University, Twickenham Ealing Trailfinders Women players England international women's rugby sevens players English rugby sevens players Gloucester-Hartpury Women players Great Britain women's international rugby sevens players Olympic rugby sevens players for Great Britain Rugby sevens players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Rugby sevens players at the 2024 Summer Olympics Rugby union players from Castleford Wasps Women rugby players {{England-rugbyunion-bio-stub