Lisa Thomson has admitted her mum Susan cried when she told her the news that she had been selected for a second Olympic Games.
Thomson, 26, is the sole Scot in the Team GB women’s sevens squad that is in Paris and she will be backing up her appearance at Tokyo 2020 which took place in 2021.
“Mum cried when I told her about my selection,” Thomson said.
“A few weeks ago, we all got text messages telling us whether we’d been selected or not.
“I phoned home as soon as I got my text message confirming my selection to let the family know and they have managed to book to come out to Paris and watch so that will be really special.
“They absolutely loved coming out to New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup [when Thomson was playing XVs for Scotland in late 2022] so it’ll be great to have them cheering me on again and they have been a huge part of my rugby journey to this point.
“They drove me across the country when I was younger and have always been there for me so to have them by my side in these special moments is pretty cool.
“With this Games not being in pandemic times like Tokyo and with it being closer to home, hopefully friends can get over to watch too.
“As a result, I am buzzing to be in Paris to take it all in and play in a stadium with loads of fans in it as the stadium in Tokyo was empty which was a bit strange.”
With this selection, the busy 2023/24 season just goes on and on for Lisa.
It started with her helping Scotland’s XV-a-side team win the WXV 2 title in South Africa in October and will end at this showpiece event, but the Scottish Rugby/GB Sevens dual contracted player would not have it any other way.
“This season has been long and pretty difficult at times, but I wouldn’t change it,” she said.
“It has been mentally challenging with a lot of ups and downs in terms of performances and other things as well as flipping between XVs and sevens.
“I have grown as a person and have learnt to cope with a lot of situations and am feeling good going forward.”
Meanwhile, the ‘Lisa Thomson fan club’ will be out in force in Paris to support her when the women’s sevens competition takes place on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
Lisa’s mum Susan, dad Allan, brother Matthew and granny Ann will be in Paris at the Stade de France cheering her on as she plays for Great Britain – and they cannot wait.
“We all managed to make it out to New Zealand to watch Lisa in the Rugby World Cup with Scotland back in late 2022 and that was a great experience and we are expecting another great few days here,” Mum said.
“This will be a much shorter trip, but having missed out on Tokyo because of the pandemic it will be amazing to be able to watch Lisa playing live at an Olympics.
“We are just so proud of her for making it to a second Olympic Games, she has worked so hard to get to this point.
“There have been ups and downs along the way, but she never stops training hard and she is tenacious character who just keeps on going.
“While we will be out there in France watching it has also been nice to hear how many people will be watching her from back home in the town and beyond.”
Great Britain women’s sevens Olympic squad
Amy Wilson Hardy
Ellie Boatman
Ellie Kildunne
Emma Uren (C)
Grace Crompton
Heather Cowell
Isla Norman-Bell
Jade Shekells
Jasmine Joyce
Lauren Torley
Lisa Thomson
Meg Jones
Reserves:
Abi Burton
Kayleigh Powell
Great Britain women’s sevens Olympic Pool B fixtures
Ireland, July 28 at 3.30pm local time (2.30pm UK)
Australia, July 28 at 7.30pm local time (6.30pm UK)
South Africa, July 29 at 2pm local time (1pm UK)
Rest of fixtures on July 29 and 30 depends on results
Lisa Thomson and her Great Britain team mates are pictured, thanks to Team GB for the image
GH Media will be covering the Scots involved in sevens at the Olympics between July 27 and July 31