The Australia women's national field hockey team (nicknamed the Hockeyroos) are, as of August 2023, ranked second in the world.[2] Having played their first game in 1914, and their first Olympic game in 1984, they are one of Australia's most successful sporting teams, boasting three Olympic gold medals (1988, 1996, 2000), two World Cup gold medals (1994, 1998) and four Commonwealth Games gold medals (1998, 2006, 2010, 2014). The Hockeyroos have been crowned Australia's Team of the Year five times and were unanimously awarded Best Australian Team at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
A notable part of the Hockeyroos colourful history has involved Ric Charlesworth. Charlesworth was at the helm of the Hockeyroos from 1993 to 2000, where his reign as coach saw the team win the 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999 Champions Trophies, 1994 and 1998 World Cups and the 1998 Commonwealth Games. Charlesworth took the Hockeyroos to the Atlanta and Sydney Olympic Games, where the team won back-to-back gold medals. The team was coached from 2011 by Adam Commens, who was replaced after the 2016 Summer Olympics, where the side failed to medal, by Paul Gaudoin.
Amid much turmoil, Gaudoin quit in March 2021 and was replaced by former player Katrina Powell.[3]
Given the extent of the Hockeyroos success, the team has consistently remained at the top of the world hockey rankings. From the late 1980s until 2000, the Australian team was ranked at number 1 in the world. Only once during this period, did the Hockeyroos fail to win a tournament, when they finished fifth.
- ^ "FIH Outdoor World Hockey Rankings". FIH. 13 August 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ "FIH RANKINGS — OUTDOOR". International Hockey Federation. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- ^ "Olympics: Powell takes over Australia's 'Hockeyroos' after period of turmoil". Reuters. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.