OUR RUGBY 7s heroes will be carrying the well wishes of family and friends across Twickenham and Richmond into the Olympic arena this week.

Celia Quansah together with her partner Meg Jones, plus Emma Uren and Abi Burton will be chasing a medal for Team GB in the tournament.

Celia, aged 25, and Emma, 23, both studied at Orleans Park School, in Twickenham.

The school tweeted its support, writing: "Massive congratulations to 2 of our ex-students, Emma and Celia, who have been named in the Team GB Rugby 7s squad heading to Tokyo for the Olympic Games. We are hugely proud of you both and will be cheering you on!'

Celia, whose father Blessed is Ghanaian, responded, writing: "It may have taken 6 years for me to make the leap, but this school definitely ignited the spark. Grateful for the opportunity to play contact rugby here!"

Meg, aged 24, who has joint Welsh-English heritage, is now an adopted local as is Abi, aged 21, who is studying at St Mary's University, in Twickenham.

Celia's mother Clare, who has lived in the area all her life, said: "Celia and Meg are a couple, and they spend a lot of time promoting LBGTQ+ in sport.

"Celia started as a gymnast at Heathrow Gym, and later transferred to athletics with Emma at Orleans Park. She was in their Rugby League team that got through to the national final twice."

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She went to Richmond athletics club at St Mary's then to Oakland's College St Albans at 16, an elite sports centre. She competed to national standard in Heptathlon where she learned to sprint.

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Celia, who has two brothers and a sister, studied at Loughborough University where she was keen to get involved in a team sport and decided to try rugby, where she was soon spotted by England scouts.

Clare said: "We have always been a rugby family, her brother played for London Scottish and is now player coach at Twickenham RFC.

We live within sight of Twickenham Stadium and love the whole vibe when the matches are on."

The family home in Whitton Dene has been decked with messages of support wishing the women well in what will be an extremely tough tournament, particularly given the high temperatures. However, Team GB's Rugby 7s squads are likely to be among the fittest and strongest in the tournament.

Meg is co-captain of Team GB and was a travelling reserve at the Rio games. She recently told the Independent: "I set myself a goal after Rio, and that goal was to come back and win a medal at this Olympic Games. I am very set on that dream.

"The competition is going to be fast and exciting, and I have no doubt that every team is going to be firing."

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Emma Uren studied Strength and Conditioning at St Mary's University and graduated in 2020, while Abi Burton, who originates from Yorkshire, is currently studying Sport Science at the university.

Emma described her selection to the squad as a 'dream come true'. She added: "It's been a long year! Thankful to everyone around me who has supported and honoured to be a part of this amazing group."

Speaking ahead of leaving for Japan, Abi said: "I think this tournament is going to be one like no other.

"I think our preparation has put us in a good place coming into Tokyo, whereas you don't know about other teams, you don't know how much rugby they've been able to do."

Celia and Meg are not the first local couple to compete in the Rugby 7s for Team GB. Jo and Alice Richardson-Watmore, who now run the personal training studio Fuel Training- https://www.fueltraining.co.uk/ - near Twickenham Green, featured in the team which was narrowly beaten in the bronze play-off in Rio.

Great Britain have been placed in Pool A of the women's competition, where they will face World Cup Sevens and World Series title holders New Zealand as well as the Russian Olympic Committee team and Kenya. Coverage starts in the early hours of the morning on Thursday (UK time).

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