Conroy keen on LA 2028 involvement ‘if the body well’
It might be a long way down the line, but Ireland 7s star Jordan Conroy hasn’t ruled out the prospect of donning the green jersey at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
A member of the first Irish rugby squad to feature in an Olympics at the delayed games in Tokyo three years ago, Conroy was also part of the set-up for this summer’s spectacle in Paris.
Having finished 10th in that maiden appearance, the Ireland men (who were joined by their female compatriots this time around) achieved a higher ranking of sixth at the 2024 Games in the French capital.
The playing personnel within the IRFU’s 7s programme is unlikely to be the same four years from now but while the 30-year-old Offaly man isn’t making any grand plans, he is open to the idea of becoming a three-time Olympian if the circumstances are right.
“I’ll take it year by year. It’s not about the mind, it’s more so about the body. If the body is well able for it and I am around for 2028, I will 100% go for another one. I mean, there are lads on different teams that are like 35/38 at their third Olympics,” the Allianz ambassador Conroy explained in a media call yesterday.
“It definitely goes to show that the body can be maintained until that time, but for me, I’ll just take it year-by-year. Just get next year out of the way, see how I feel. See if there are any opportunities opening up for me. We’ll see.”
Given they followed up the Tokyo Olympics with a number of impressive tournament displays – including finishing third at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2022 – there was understandably a greater level of expectation surrounding the Ireland men’s team for the Paris Olympics.
James Topping’s side did progress to the quarter-final stage of the tournament, but with Conroy sidelined by an injury he picked up in a group stage loss to New Zealand, their dreams of picking up an Olympic medal were ended by defending champions Fiji in the last-eight.
While Conroy admitted there was disappointment in the wake of this defeat, he also accepts this is often the nature of sport.
“Basing it on our performance rather than expectations, we knew that if we performed, we could beat all the teams we played. I think we did show that in the group stages,” Conroy added.
“It was definitely a goal of ours [to win a medal] and not being able to get there did sadden us a lot. It was a bit heartbreaking.
“We definitely didn’t shy away from wanting to get a medal, but that’s life. You have something planned and it doesn’t go your way, you just have to accept it.”