Charlotte Caslick will trade Olympic rings for wedding rings before she re-commits her mind to a third rugby sevens quest in Paris in 2024.
The 2016 Rio gold medallist was gutted by Australia’s quarter-final exit in Tokyo but her resolve to play on to a third Olympics is as strong as ever.
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Caslick will still only be 29 by the time the next Olympics roll around with a cast of rising young talents around her.
The breakout showings of Madison Ashby, 20, Faith Nathan, 21, and Demi Hayes, 23, in Tokyo showed just where the youthful core is coming from for next year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the World Cup Sevens in Cape Town.
“It hurts but it’s only three years to Paris so hopefully...,” Caslick said in the devastating moments after Australia’s 14-12 quarter-final loss to Fiji at the Olympics.
“I know Rio fuelled the Kiwis for this.”
Caslick was referencing the hurt and motivation that Ruby Tui, Portia Woodman and Co packaged from their silver medal in Rio to win a glorious gold in Tokyo.
Caslick has parked all those thoughts for now because December 18 is the one future date in her mind.
It’s the day she will marry soul mate Lewis Holland, the men’s rugby sevens stalwart.
Both are in quarantine with their teams after flying home from their second Olympic campaigns.
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One cruel spin-off to the COVID-19 pandemic last year was the pair being forced to postpone a planned December 19 wedding and put it off for a year.
Away from the training field, Caslick and Holland have been quietly planning for the big day at the end of this year.
“We’ve done a lot of the pre-wedding stuff. You can do that during those semi-lockdowns Sydney had earlier this year,” Caslick said.
“Lewis’ mum is doing the cake, we’re using cotton in the flower arrangements, table settings...all those things have been planned.”
It’s time to live life before rugby for a while.
