Kathy Flores, women’s rugby legend as player and coach, dies

By THALIA BEATY
Associated Press

The legendary rugby player, coach and leader of the women’s sport in the U.S., Kathleen “Kathy” Flores, has died. She was 66. Hundreds of her former teammates, fellow coaches, former players and friends gathered on Saturday for a virtual remembrance organized by the U.S. Women’s Rugby Foundation, of which she was a co-founder. Flores died of cancer in October in Providence, Rhode Island. Flores touched every generation of players and coaches for more than 40 years. She was a member of the 1991 U.S. women’s rugby team that won the first women’s World Cup and was twice entered in the the U.S. Rugby hall of fame.