Dr. Maria Eugenia Gallo (born 21 September 1977) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

player with 55 caps including the 2002 and

2006 Women's Rugby World Cup The 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup (officially IRB Rugby World Cup 2006 Canada) took place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The tournament began on 31 August and ended on 17 September 2006. The 2006 tournament was the third World Cup approved by the I ...

. A multi-talented athlete, Gallo was also a member of Canada's National Bobsleigh Team for two years (2003–04). She was inducted in the

Rugby Canada Rugby Canada is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in Canada. Rugby Canada was incorporated in 1974, and stems from the Canadian Rugby Football Union, a body established in 1884 that now governs amateur Canadian football a ...

Hall of Fame in 2018 in the player category. Gallo is the second woman to be inducted into the Rugby Canada Hall of Fame. Gallo is considered one of the top ten North American women rugby union players. Her team nickname is "the Tank". Gallo represented

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

winning the 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000 national championship. In university, she played for the

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

Guelph Gryphons The Guelph Gryphons are the athletic teams that represent the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of the U Sports(OUA's), and, where applicable, in ...

and

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

Alberta Pandas. During this time, she received the Guelph University Female athlete of the year award in 1998, as well as OUA All-Star awards in 1997 and 1998. Gallo has a doctorate in muscle physiology/biochemistry from the University of Alberta. From 1999 to 2010, she was a member of the Canadian Women's Senior 15's National Team, serving as vice-captain. During her tenure with the national team she earned 55 caps and represented her country at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. She spent two years with the Canadian Women's National 7's Team (2008-2010) where she was named team captain and led her country to the first

Rugby World Cup Sevens Rugby World Cup Sevens (RWCS) is the quadrennial world championship of rugby sevens, a variant of rugby union. Organised by World Rugby, it currently consists of men's and women's tournaments, and is the highest level of competition in the sport ...

in 2009. She played center and wing in 15s, and hooker in 7s. Since 2015, she is the head coach of the

UBC The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top three ...

Thunderbirds women's rugby coach. For the past decade, Gallo has been a Pathway coach to the National 15's and 7's programs. In 2018, Gallo was inducted in the Ontario Rugby Hall of Fame. After Gallo completed her post-doc in blood doping at UBC, she is now an instructor at the School of Kinesiology.

References

1977 births Canadian female rugby union players Canada women's international rugby union players Living people Canada international women's rugby sevens players Argentine emigrants to Canada {{Canada-rugbyunion-bio-stub