FOR most athletes, Olympic gold is the stuff of dreams.
With one gold medal to her name, Carlton’s Chloe Dalton will chase the dream again when she re-joins the Australian rugby sevens program in April.
Dalton spoke to Carlton Media as she hopes to make her Tokyo dream a reality following the completion of AFLW 4.0.
“Following the AFLW season in April, I’ll be heading back to Sydney to join the Australian rugby sevens program and hopefully earn a spot in the team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics,” Dalton said.
Dreaming of Tokyo. 😍
— Carlton Womens (@carltonfc_w) January 14, 2020
Go get ‘em, @ChloeDalton7s. We couldn’t be prouder. ✊#BoundByBlue
“I’ve been in contact with John Manenti, the Aussie sevens coach, since I’ve been down here and he’s been trying to get me back over to the program.
“He came back to me with an offer that I could still play the AFLW season and join the girls following on from that. I think the opportunity to do both was too good to resist.”
Currently balancing commitments in both sports, Dalton will make the full transition at the close of Carlton’s 2020 AFLW campaign.
After establishing herself as an integral player for the Blues in her debut year, there was plenty of support for Dalton’s Olympic bid following the announcement.
“I was pretty nervous about approaching ‘Harf’ because I wasn’t sure what he was going to say. He was amazing, the same with Ash Brown as well,” she said.
“They were really supportive and Carlton has been amazing about it. They said it was such a good opportunity and you’ve got to grab it with both hands and run with it.”
It’s the support from her fellow Blues that has Dalton excited for what 2020 could have in store for her Olympic hopes.
“The girls have all been really supportive as well which has been awesome,” she said.
“There’s a bit of rumour about a post-season footy trip to Tokyo which would be pretty cool I reckon, to see them in the stands!”
“Hopefully we can get back to a Grand Final with the girls and, following on from that, move back to Sydney. I can’t wait.”