Olympics-Rio rugby a special lure for cancer survivor Potter

By Mark Lamport-Stokes LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Having recovered from a broken neck and overcome a rare form of soft tissue cancer in the past six years, United States rugby player Jillion Potter has a new zest for life as she prepares for the Rio Olympics. With the sport back on the Games programme for the first time since 1924, Potter is itching to experience the thrill of Olympic competition and hopes that rugby's exposure on such a big stage will help accelerate its growth in her homeland. "I was like, 'That's so awesome because now America will fall in love with the game,'" Potter told Reuters about her reaction when rugby sevens was brought in for the Rio Olympics onwards, with the International Olympic Committee eager to tap into new markets and win new viewers. "I didn't actually think it was in my cards for a bit because I was predominantly focused on rugby 15s but when I was coming back from injury, I was like, 'You know what, I'm going to put my hat in the ring, I'm going to go up for sevens.' "Luckily I was one of the first athletes contracted to play at the OTC (Olympic Training Center in California) and now I can't believe I didn't play sevens earlier. What was I missing the whole time?" Asked what would be a realistic goal for the U.S. women's sevens team in Rio, Potter replied: "I would say making podium, and with rugby sevens anything is possible. It's really about who can handle the pressure, who can stay in the present. "It is so much more about the psychological piece than the skill piece, but also being able to have the best combination of both to propel you to the podium." According to the 29-year-old Potter, who has been one of the U.S. captains during the Women's Sevens World Series, the likely gold medal contenders in Rio would include New Zealand, Australia, Canada, France, England, the U.S. and Russia. "We beat Russia at the Sao Paulo Sevens in February but they are definitely a force to be reckoned with," said Potter. "They have always been a very physical and fit team, they are pretty solid. The others, all those are big rugby countries. "But we are pretty competitive internationally, especially in sevens. Once America starts realising that, 'Hey, let's put our kids in it, it's a safe sport', well ... we have the best athletes in the world. "We are a melting pot of diversity and power and great athletes and once people start playing the game of rugby, we are going to be unstoppable." THE UNSTOPPABLE POTTER Despite being dealt more than her fair share of setbacks since she switched to rugby at the University of New Mexico after her high school basketball career ended, Potter has also been unstoppable. In 2010, she broke her neck during a match against Canada and was told by one doctor she could never play rugby again. Fortunately, USA Rugby referred her to another doctor who recommended a surgery that saved her career. "They told me that I could play rugby again if I did a certain surgical procedure and everything else was pretty safe because it was only a single level fusion," said Potter. "The rehab and recovery took a little over a year, just making sure the bone and neck were fused together and that I could rebuild my strength equally on both sides of my body. "Then I had to get confident in my tackling and my contact piece, not play tentatively because that could be dangerous. I had a lot of support from the entire USA squad and staff, with a programme that would get me back into international play." Four years later, during the 2014 Rugby World Cup in France, Potter felt a swelling in her jaw that kept getting bigger and bigger and she was later diagnosed with Stage 3 synovial sarcoma. She had surgery to remove a malignant tumour before starting chemotherapy at the University of Colorado Hospital, where she stayed for four days at a time in six different cycles 21 days apart. "I tried to be as positive as I could but for a year it was hell," Potter said. "I had some side effects, but overall I think I managed it very well. "Through that whole ordeal, I thought about rugby and how I wanted to come back. I am just grateful to be here." (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Frank Pingue)