Grace Crompton is the youngest member of the Team GB women’s team competing at Paris 2024 this summer.
Rising star Grace Crompton never set her sights on becoming an Olympian in rugby sevens. Sportsbeat’s Megan Armitage wrote:
The 22-year-old is the youngest member of Team GB’s 12-man seven-man squad for this summer’s Olympics and is one of eight debutants scheduled to compete at the Stade de France.
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The 80,000-seat cathedral hosts both sevens and track and field events, and Crompton grew up dreaming of competing in track and field events.
The 13-year-old clocked 27.57 seconds in the 200m and has held her triple jump personal best of 10.53m since 2017. The subsequent challenges of competing in her individual sport led Crompton to find a new passion.
Grace Crompton’s Olympic Selection
“My athletic ability is pretty good in terms of speed,” Crompton said.
“But when I moved up to the national team, I realized I was having quite a bit of trouble in terms of solo sports.
“I found rugby at the right time because I was putting a lot of pressure on myself and there was no one there to put their arm around you and help you.
“It was a direct exchange of one in and one out. Instead, I thought that if I wanted to play rugby, becoming an Olympian was the way to go, and here I am.”
The winger scored six tries in his debut tournament for the GB Sevens. She qualified for the GB Sevens after winning gold at the 2021 Women’s Fast Four in Vancouver, where she qualified for the 2022 Sevens World Cup and the 2022 Commonwealth Games where she represented England.
Crompton is still shocked by her meteoric rise on the pitch, but with her maiden Olympics on the horizon, she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Grace Crompton poses in her Team GB Olympic jersey after joining the squad (Getty Images)
“It was a very quick transition,” she said.
“I went from picking up a ball to playing in the European Under-18 Championships in just four months, which is unusual.
“Imposter Syndrome was huge and watching it again is so funny because I had no idea what I was doing. I hope you’ve learned a bit more since then.
“But I knew that playing rugby was my thing and here I am.”
The rugby sevens team will be making its third Olympic appearance in Paris after Rio 2016.
Team GB took part in all three shows, while the women’s team will launch their campaign in Paris on 28 July.
The pool has not yet been determined and there will be two days of qualifying before the competition heats up with the Battle of Gold on July 30.
And after Team GB finished a heartbreaking fourth place at Tokyo 2020, losing 21-12 to Fiji in the bronze medal match, Crompton is ready to go the distance to give his teammates one more chance at Olympic gold.
“For me, Paris is about finding a balance between accepting that this is my first major event and doing my job,” she said.
“I know a lot of the girls got fourth places in Rio and Tokyo, so I want to help the whole team.
“I don’t want to experience the first game. “I also want to get a medal in my first competition for the women who didn’t get a medal before me.”
To secure qualification for Paris 2024, the GB men’s rugby sevens team will need to win the Olympic repechage tournament in Monaco this weekend.
Aldi is an official partner of Team GB and ParalympicsGB, supporting all athletes until Paris 2024.
Can Grace Crompton and Team GB’s women’s sevens finally win an Olympic medal? Let us know on social media or email Rugbyworldletters@futurenet.com.
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