Macon Reporter

Springfield, Illinois, native Lauren Doyle is representing USA Rugby at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games and has been reporting back about her experiences as an Olympian and behind the scenes at the Olympic Village.

The 30-year-old Olympian and her teammates recently went viral after sharing a video showcasing the strength of the Olympic Village's cardboard beds, according to Herald & Review.

"The bed frame is cardboard and the bed (mattress) is made of something ... I don't really know what it is," Doyle said, according to Herald & Review. "They are like a woven spider web of plastic, that's what the actual mattress looks like," Doyle said. "As for comfortability — on a scale of 1-10 —  it is probably a one. Those aren't very fun, but the beds we are sleeping on are extremely sturdy." 

Because of COVID restrictions, travel from the Village to Tokyo is limited, leaving Olympians with less to do than at previous Olympic games.

"We are having a practice a day and we get to explore the Olympic Village a lot," Doyle said, according to Herald & Review." We don't really get to leave too much unless we are going to trainings. The village is very big so there are a lot of things to see and do here," Doyle said. "It is different from (the 2016 Rio Olympics) in that we can't leave the village and go to the different U.S. houses. We are pretty much in the village, or we are traveling as a team somewhere to go to practice or training or the pool or gym."

In 2016, Doyle was a part of history as the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was the first time rugby sevens had ever been played at an Olympic event, according to NBC Chicago News. She wants to keep making history by helping to lead her team to its first medal. 

"It was an amazing experience to go the first time and compete there, I just think that this time around I want to win," Doyle told NBC Chicago. "So it does feel amazing [to be heading to Tokyo], feels great, but we're out there to, you know, come back with a gold."

Doyle added that she hopes her participation can bring attention to the sport, especially for young girls.

According to Team USA, Doyle graduated from Meridian High School in ‘09 and went on to earn a Marketing degree at Eastern Illinois University.

Doyle previously earned a silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games as part of the U.S. women's national rugby sevens team, according to her Wikipedia page.