Kenya Lionesses playmaker Grace Adhiambo Okullo is keenly aware of the unique experience of being an Olympian, and she hopes her new teammates can share that feeling.
Having made her debut at the Tokyo Olympics, Adhiambo is now focused on securing a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
However, the team must first succeed at the Olympic Repechage in Monaco to qualify for the Games for the third consecutive time, with Adhiambo aiming for her second appearance.
Adhiambo acknowledges the pressure heading into the final qualification event but plans to channel it positively to enhance her performance.
“The pressure is there, yes, but I’m not taking it negatively because if I do, I’ll be nervous, unable to kick or pass, thinking about too many things. In that moment, I need to focus on my teammates and what I need to do right. We’re taking the pressure positively as a team,” Adhiambo told Olympic Kenya.\
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She added that she wants her teammates to experience the dream of becoming Olympians and is excited about the possibility of going to Paris, famously known as the city of love.
“I know what it means to be an Olympian and to go to Paris, and I want my teammates to feel that. We have new players who dream of becoming Olympians. It’s everyone’s dream to go to Paris, the land of love.”
Adhiambo was recalled to the squad after missing the final Challenger Series tournament due to commitments with the Japanese club MIE Pearls Women’s Rugby Football Club.
The women’s tournament in Monaco is expected to be highly competitive, featuring teams from Argentina, China, Czechia, Hong Kong China, Kenya, Jamaica, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Poland, Samoa, and Uganda, with Czechia making their Repechage debut.
In the men’s Olympic event, hosts France are joined by New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji, and Australia, who secured their spots by ranking in the top four positions of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023. These teams will be joined by regional qualifiers Uruguay (South America), Ireland (Europe), USA (North America), Kenya (Africa), Samoa (Oceania), and Japan (Asia).
The women’s Olympic lineup includes New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, and the USA as the top four qualifiers through the 2023 World Series, along with hosts France. They have been joined by regional qualifiers Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, South Africa, Fiji, and Japan.
Paris 2024 will mark rugby sevens’ third appearance at the Olympic Games. The sport is anticipated to be one of the most exciting events following the success of the Rugby World Cup 2023 in France. Fiji’s men have dominated the Olympic competition with gold medals in both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. New Zealand are the reigning women’s Olympic champions, while Australia won the inaugural women’s Olympic gold medal in Rio.
