EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — El Paso native Laneah Bryan won her second gold medal with the U.S. Women’s Flag Football National Team at IFAF Flag Football World Championship in Lahti, Finland, this past August and is fast becoming the face of the sport in the Borderland region.
“Going out there, competing in Finland, competing against a bunch of different countries, it was an amazing experience with my teammates. The culture that USA Football has created has been something that I’ve been honored to be a part of, with our teammates and the staff and everyone,” said Bryan, a graduate of El Paso’s Franklin High School.
Courtesy of Lester Barnes/USA Football
For the second year in a row, Bryan and team USA squared off against Mexico in the championship match, and defended their title with a 31-18 victory.
Courtesy of Lester Barnes/USA Football
Bryan once again had a pivotal interception late in the game, just like in the 2023 IFAF Americas Continental Flag Football Championship, where they defeated Mexico 26-21.
Courtesy of @ecsportsimages
This is the third consecutive championship for the U.S., and the national team has seemingly built a strong foundation for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where flag football will be recognized as an Olympic sport for the first time.
USA Football is the governing body that leads and selects the flag football national teams that will eventually compete in the Olympics.
While Bryan has made a name for herself in the rapidly exploding sport, she will have to earn her spot in the national team every year through the Olympic trials.
“I never dreamed, I never imagined that I would be in a position to potentially be competing in the Olympics. So it’s really exciting for me. I’m excited for the process and to continue training and preparing for that,” Bryan said.
Bryan is not wasting any time. She was just signed to the Caudillas of Chihuahua, a professional women’s flag football team in Mexico, for a tournament being held in Guadalajara, Mexico this week.
“It’s really exciting for this sport to see that there are these opportunities to play at a professional level,” Bryan said.
The women’s flag football league was recently launched by LFA Caliente, Mexico’s premier professional flag football league.
Bryan said there are efforts being made by organizations in the United States to launch their own professional flag football league.
Next up for USA Football’s flag football national teams are the IFAF World Games being held in Chengdu, China in 2025.
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