Rhona Lloyd is one of six Loughborough athletes who have been included in the initial 24-strong GB Women's Sevens squad for Tokyo 2020. Image credit: Stillsport.
Loughborough athletes named in extended GB Women’s Rugby Sevens squad
Six Loughborough athletes have been included in the initial 24-strong GB Women's Sevens squad for Tokyo 2020.
Loughborough Lightning players Rhona Lloyd and Helen Nelson have been selected and will be joined by Loughborough College duo Jodie Ounsley and Celia Quansah. Current Sport Science student Helena Rowland has also been picked in the preliminary side.
Alumna Meg Jones completes the sextet having had previous experience as a traveling reserve for Team GB at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Rhona Lloyd, who is also studying a master’s in Sports Biomechanics at Loughborough University, said:
“I love Rugby Sevens and the Olympics is the pinnacle competition, so it has always been a dream of mine to compete in. To be part of the extended Team GB training squad ahead of the Tokyo games is extremely exciting.
“It's going to be a busy few months with a lot of overlap between 15s and 7s but it will be a fantastic learning opportunity to train alongside some world-class athletes from England and Wales.”
The team will go through three training camps, with the first taking place in Edinburgh this week before others in Wales and England in April.
The squad will be narrowed down to a final 13 just prior to the Olympic Games in July.
Great Britain's women's sevens training squad
Meg Jones (England)
Rhona Lloyd (Scotland)
Helen Nelson (Scotland)
Jodie Ounsley (England)
Celia Quansah (England)
Helena Rowland (England)
Holly Aitchison (England)
Keira Bevan (Wales)
Abbie Brown (England)
Abi Burton (England)
Heather Fisher (England)
Deborah Fleming (England)
Megan Gaffney (Scotland)
Sydney Gregson (England)
Hannah Jones (Wales)
Jasmine Joyce (Wales)
Ellie Kildunne (England)
Alex Matthews (England)
Chloe Rollie (Scotland)
Hannah Smith (Scotland)
Lisa Thomson (Scotland)
Emma Uren (England)
Beth Wilcock (England)
Amy Wilson Hardy (England)
Notes for editors
Press release reference number: 20/24
Loughborough University is equipped with a live in-house broadcast unit via the Globelynx network. To arrange an interview with one of our experts please contact the press office on 01509 223491. Bookings can be made online via www.globelynx.com
Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.
It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2019 QS World University Rankings, University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2019 and top in the country for its student experience in the 2018 THE Student Experience Survey.
Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 4th in the Guardian University League Table 2020, 5th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019 and 8th in The UK Complete University Guide 2020.
Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.
The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.
Rhona Lloyd is one of six Loughborough athletes who have been included in the initial 24-strong GB Women's Sevens squad for Tokyo 2020. Image credit: Stillsport.
Six Loughborough athletes have been included in the initial 24-strong GB Women's Sevens squad for Tokyo 2020.
Loughborough Lightning players Rhona Lloyd and Helen Nelson have been selected and will be joined by Loughborough College duo Jodie Ounsley and Celia Quansah. Current Sport Science student Helena Rowland has also been picked in the preliminary side.
Alumna Meg Jones completes the sextet having had previous experience as a traveling reserve for Team GB at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Rhona Lloyd, who is also studying a master’s in Sports Biomechanics at Loughborough University, said:
“I love Rugby Sevens and the Olympics is the pinnacle competition, so it has always been a dream of mine to compete in. To be part of the extended Team GB training squad ahead of the Tokyo games is extremely exciting.
“It's going to be a busy few months with a lot of overlap between 15s and 7s but it will be a fantastic learning opportunity to train alongside some world-class athletes from England and Wales.”
The team will go through three training camps, with the first taking place in Edinburgh this week before others in Wales and England in April.
The squad will be narrowed down to a final 13 just prior to the Olympic Games in July.
Great Britain's women's sevens training squad
Meg Jones (England)
Rhona Lloyd (Scotland)
Helen Nelson (Scotland)
Jodie Ounsley (England)
Celia Quansah (England)
Helena Rowland (England)
Holly Aitchison (England)
Keira Bevan (Wales)
Abbie Brown (England)
Abi Burton (England)
Heather Fisher (England)
Deborah Fleming (England)
Megan Gaffney (Scotland)
Sydney Gregson (England)
Hannah Jones (Wales)
Jasmine Joyce (Wales)
Ellie Kildunne (England)
Alex Matthews (England)
Chloe Rollie (Scotland)
Hannah Smith (Scotland)
Lisa Thomson (Scotland)
Emma Uren (England)
Beth Wilcock (England)
Amy Wilson Hardy (England)
Notes for editors
Press release reference number: 20/24
Loughborough University is equipped with a live in-house broadcast unit via the Globelynx network. To arrange an interview with one of our experts please contact the press office on 01509 223491. Bookings can be made online via www.globelynx.com
Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.
It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2019 QS World University Rankings, University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2019 and top in the country for its student experience in the 2018 THE Student Experience Survey.
Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 4th in the Guardian University League Table 2020, 5th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019 and 8th in The UK Complete University Guide 2020.
Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.
The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.
