It should have felt like the fulfilment of a rugby dream. Instead, Wales rugby sevens specialist Luke Treharne felt his Rio de Janeiro experience in 2016 was a terrible nightmare. Now, as he tells Rob Cole, he wants a better memory from the delayed Games in 2021.
Luke Treharne promised himself “never again” after being sidelined at the 2016 Olympic Games – but he’s now desperate to be there again in 2021.
The Wales rugby sevens captain is refusing to give up on his dream of finally becoming an Olympian despite the postponement of this year’s Games in Tokyo.
Treharne will have to hang on for another year to try to finally make the Team GB squad. He went to Rio four years ago as the 13th man and returned vowing never to try again.
His was a rather surreal experience compared to that of the 12 players who earned a silver medal in Brazil.
Along with initially Ruairi McConnachie, and then Charlie Hayter, he acted as back-up to the British squad, yet never got the chance to play.
“When I got back from Brazil four years ago I said to myself ‘never again’. I’d been part of an Olympic Games, but been treated like a second class citizen,” said Treharne.
“It was just a strange experience from start to finish for myself, Ruairi and then Charlie. You would have thought it would have been amazing, but we weren’t allowed accreditation because we weren’t part of the 12 man squad.
“We were there just in case of injury and, as it happened, Ruairi got called up when Alex Davies got injured. That meant Charlie came out to join me.
“But we weren’t allowed in the Olympic village, we couldn’t travel on official transport and we were holed up in a flat in Rio with the two reserves for the women’s team.
“We had to cook our own food, do our own washing and make our way in taxis every day to training. When we got there, we had to show our passports to gain entry to the complex in a process that took about 20 minutes every time.
“The taxis were a nightmare. It took us up to two hours every day to get to training – and then a similar journey back to our digs at the end of the day.
“When the games were on we weren’t allowed to mingle with the team, and had to sit in the stand. On the third and final day of action, the rules stated that once the first game had been played we could no longer be called on.
“Once we got passed that stage we were free to enjoy a few beers. It was a long day, especially as we got the chance to cheer on the team into the final.”
The final ignominy came when the reserves were sent home the day after the final, yet the squad were allowed to remain in Rio for a further five days.
To add insult to injury, when Treharne returned to the Lensbury Club in London to retrieve his car and drive home to Llanelli he found it was surrounded by scaffolding.
Unlucky to lose out to England’s chief playmaker and skipper Tom Mitchell, who also captained Team GB, Treharne at least had a few moments to savour before he headed to Rio as he led the GB Royals team to back-to-back victories in the Rugby Europe Sevens series, including a triumph over the GB Lions, the Mitchell led squad, in the final.
For two months after Rio, Treharne was adamant he would never put himself through that again. Four years on, he has changed his mind.
With 40 World Series tournaments behind him with Wales, and a medical career on hold while he follows his dreams, he is prepared to hang around for another year to try to earn the right to call himself an Olympian.
“What really hurt last time was that I went up to Trafalgar Square for a British Olympic Association gathering and they made a big song and dance about this being the moment you became an Olympian. They handed out certificates to everyone, but stopped at No 12 in the sevens squad,” recalled Treharne.
“I may have spent all that time in Rio, trained with the squad every day and been ready for a call-up, but I never became an Olympian. And we weren’t included when they handed out the medals.
“That’s what has kept me going, really. The desire to finally become an Olympian. I’m only 27, so I think I can go for another year and then reassess what I’m going to go with the rest of my life.
“It was undoubtedly the right decision to postpone this year’s Games. They were just about to announce the Team GB training squad and who knows what is going to happen to the final four rounds of this season’s World Series?”
“You don’t have to be a rugby fan to know how disappointed we were (after that first game)”
Luke Trehane speaks after his side came back to beat Kenya at the #Sydney7s pic.twitter.com/KRAovM5Kac
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) February 1, 2020
Currently back at the family home in Llanelli, Treharne is doing sprinting training twice a week up Penyfai Hill outside the house and working out in his garage gym.
He is also going to be volunteering to help out in the coronavirus crisis.
His parents are both doctors, with his father, Chris, set to come out of retirement to offer his expertise.
While he has completed his own university medical degree, Treharne has yet to do his two years at medical school having taken time off to concentrate on his rugby.