In almost every way, this Olympic experience has already been entirely different for Lisa Thomson compared to her first one.
Tokyo 2020 took place in the midst of a global pandemic - how could we have forgotten? - and with Thomson initially selected as a travelling reserve for a GB rugby 7s team that had only months to prepare for their campaign in the Japanese capital, the Scot perhaps wasn’t able to wring everything out of her maiden Olympic experience.
However, despite her status as travelling reserve in Tokyo, Thomson did ultimately play a part for the team, making a scoring appearance in GB’s match against Kenya. And that taste of competitive action in Tokyo, where GB finished fourth, was enough to make sure she almost immediately turned her attention towards making it to Paris this summer.
“With being the travelling reserve in Tokyo, I never expected to play. And because GB's programme had been so short – it was only six months long - I had no expectations,” the 26-year-old says.
“But after I played in Tokyo and GB finished fourth, I knew that I wanted to go to Paris and play as much as I could so that I could experience the Olympics properly.”
Lisa Thomson in action for Scotland (Image: SNS Images)
The Paris 2024 rugby 7s event begins today with the men's tournament, although GB will play no part having failed to qualify. And when the women's tournament begins on Sunday, with GB's women grouped with 2016 champions Australia, as well as Ireland and South Africa, Thomson will be Scotland’s sole rugby 7s representative at this summer’s Olympics with her fellow Scots Rhona Lloyd and Shona Campbell failing to make the final cut.
Thomson's goal is clear: having come so close to a medal in Tokyo, a spot on the podium is the target this time around.
And while the Borders native didn’t grow up dreaming of becoming an Olympic medallist – rugby 7s only became an Olympic sport in 2016 – she’s in no doubt that any Olympic silverware would rank extremely highly in her list of career achievements.
“My first memory of the Olympics is London 2012. That’s the first time I got into it and I went to a few of the Olympic football games in Newcastle. Then it was announced that rugby 7s was in for Rio 2016 and I did think that it would be incredible to represent rugby as a sport at the Olympics. That’s when I wanted to become an Olympian,” she says.
“In the World Series, we’ve beaten most teams so that’s been big for us mentally and as a squad, we have in the back of our minds what our ultimate goal is.
“The Olympics is the pinnacle of sport so getting onto the podium would be absolutely huge for rugby and I’d rank an Olympic medal very highly.”
Thomson has mastered the skill of switching between the 15s game and the 7s game seamlessly. Having played a significant role in Scotland’s Six Nations campaign earlier this year, she slotted effortlessly back into the shorter format but despite the array of differences between 15s rugby and 7s, Thomson believes her secret is the less adaptations she makes to her game, the better.
And that will, she hopes, go some way to pushing GB’s women towards a first-ever Olympic 7s medal.
“What I offer in 7s is very similar to what I offer in the 15s game – I don’t change things too much,” she says.
“There’s my ball carrying and off-loading and really, what I brought to Scotland during the Six Nations is similar to what I’ll bring to GB in the Olympics.
“The secret is not to over-think things, as soon as you start thinking about what you’re doing, it’s too late.
“So it’s about getting in good positions and make the decision about what you want to do quickly."
