Dom du Toit admits the experience of being a reserve in Rio has only served as further motivation to secure a gold medal of her own.
Du Toit made her debut on the Sevens circuit in 2016, eventually added to the squad for the Olympics as the 13th player as an injury reserve.
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Having witnessed first-hand what it means to bring home gold, Du Toit is hoping to achieve her own success as she plays in her first Olympics.
“Everything, literally everything for me,” she said on what gold would mean. “I didn’t get to win one in Rio, I was over there as a reserve and watched the girls win and ever since that moment, I knew that’s what we wanted to do.
“I think growing up, playing sport kids are like ‘I want to go to the Olympics and win gold’ but watching them win gold and being a part of and seeing what they had done to get there and seeing it pay off, I knew that’s what I wanted.
“We’re going over the Tokyo with big goals but as it everyone which is to win gold.”
Du Toit and the rest of the squad touched down in Tokyo on Monday, starting their preparations in the Olympic village for the opening match on July 29.
With the Games a reality now after the initial postponement, she admitted the feeling has become real.
“It’s really exciting. The Olympics have felt like something we’ve talked about for a while and it’s now ‘oh my goodness, we’re actually leaving, it’s actually here’ so excitement levels are very high,” she said.
Whilst New Zealand looms as their main rivals to going back-to-back, the 24-year-old remained focused on making sure they get through the group stages.
“There are a lot of good teams that we’ll come against but I think the Kiwis are in-form at the moment and they have been for the past two years, if not more,” she admitted.
“We’ve got a few hurdles to get over before we get there, a few teams that we have to aim for before we get the chance to face them."
