Caslick to carry on for third Olympics

SEVENS star Charlotte Caslick is confident she can overcome the physical demands of rugby to finish her career as a three-time Olympian.

The spearhead of Australia’s gold medal run in Rio admits her longevity in the sport is a mystery, given her generation will be the first women exposed to long-term elite rugby.

But despite the strains of regular and constantly improving competition, the 22year-old is hopeful of playing for at least another eight years and finishing with three Olympic golds.

Sevens was last week confirmed as an Olympic staple until at least the Los Angeles Games in 2028. Providing Caslick maintains her level, that would see the 2016 world player of the year feature in Tokyo’s 2020 games and again in Paris in 2024.

“We’re the first group of girls to really go through this phase of playing a professional contact sport for a long period of time, so there’s no real science on how long we can keep playing,” Caslick said.

“You have to start thinking about having a family and we have a pretty busy schedule with something always around the corner. But personally I want to play another Olympics, obviously next year’s Commonwealth Games at home will be awesome and to play in three Olympics would be amazing.”

The former touch football star will feature in next weekend’s final leg of the inaugural Uni 7s series at her Bond University home ground on the Gold Coast.

The tournament has allowed Caslick and her Australian teammates to play against each other, blood raw talent and introduce them to a new bunch of fans.

While Caslick and her gold medal-winning teammates have stood out, there is a batch of teenagers eyeing their own slice of Olympic glory down the track.

“The competition has done huge favours for our depth,” Caslick said.