Hong Kong-born star shining for United States at Sevens, eyes Olympic glory in 2028
Lucas Lacamp and Olympic silver-medallist Flo Symonds both back in city of birth to represent adopted countries
Lucas Lacamp, the former Hong Kong under-20 international, said his decision to switch allegiance to the United States had been validated by the prospect of going for gold at a home Olympics in 2028.
The 23-year-old Lacamp was one of two Hong Kong-born players who shone in foreign colours on day one of the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, after Flo Symonds, on her tournament bow, impressed for Canada. Both players called for the hosts to figure in future Hong Kong Sevens as invited teams.
The athletic Lacamp qualified for the US after studying at the University of California, and made his full international debut in December 2022. When he moved Stateside, he fell out of the Hong Kong reckoning because of a now defunct rule that dictated players must live in the city to gain selection.
After a substantial turnover of players following last summer’s Olympics, where Lacamp made his Games debut, the US have had a rotten 2024-25 HSBC SVNS Series.
Lacamp, who scored a try in his team’s opening 26-21 loss to Fiji, before they were beaten 52-5 by Argentina, was adamant that “we don’t care what other people think, as long as we know we’re progressing”.
“Considering the players we’ve lost [including two-time world player of the year Perry Baker] we’re in a great place,” added Lacamp, whose side are 11th out of 12 in the series standings. “Long-term, we’re thinking about Los Angeles 2028. We don’t mind about our results, as long as we’re progressing.