TAMPA, Fla. — Deliah Autry is now a four-time member of the U.S. Women’s Flag Football National Team.
Autry has won two gold medals and one silver medal, making her one of the most decorated international athletes in the sport.
“I think sometimes I look at my medals, and I’m kind of shocked that I even have this opportunity,” Autry said.
She fell in love with flag football when she played at Robinson High School over a decade ago.
“Before then, flag football wasn’t available for young girls in the sport,” Autry said. “There was only tackle football. I would go to my brother’s tackle football practice, and I would throw the football with my dad every night.”
She then joined club teams at the University of South Florida and Florida A&M, where she got her doctorate degree. She quickly learned that international play is a whole different ball game.
“When you’re playing in high school and college, it’s 7-on-7,” she explained. “But the international format that will be in the Olympics one day is actually 5-on-5. The whole game changes. It’s a lot faster.”
Every year, she has to try out for the national team. This year, sixty women gave their best shot, and only 12 made the cut to compete against more than 25 other countries in the flag football world championships in Finland next month.
“You have the most elite athletes out there from the countries,” she said. “The game is super fast. You got to pick up on it quickly.”
In 2028, flag football will make its Olympics debut in Los Angeles—signifying how far this game has come.
“Now the Olympics is actually a thing. That’s something every young athlete dreams of, getting a gold medal in the Olympics,” Autry said. “Every time I look at these medals it’s just a reminder of just how far the sport has come and just how much it has done for me and what it can do for young girls around the world.”
