Shattered Hockeyroos captain Jane Claxton has made a heartbreaking admission while bidding farewell to the sport following Australia’s Olympics exit.
Australia suffered a shock 3-2 loss to China on Monday, crashing out in the quarter-final stage for the sixth consecutive time.
The Hockeyroos haven’t won a medal since Sydney in 2000 when they won gold, which was their third in the space of four Games.
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Monday’s defeat was hugely controversial, with China’s third goal allowed to stand despite replays suggesting the ball had hit a Chinese body in the build-up.
Claxton, who shared captaincy duties with Kaitlin Nobbs in Paris, was critical of the decision in the immediate aftermath of the match, while the majority of players were in tears after the final whistle.
Claxton also revealed the emotional toll of more Olympic heartbreak.
The 31-year-old has won a Commonwealth Games gold, as well as silver at the World Cup among many accolades, but will depart the sport without an Olympic medal.
“I know Australians value (Olympic) medals and that’s how they value your worth as an athlete and that’s heartbreaking,” she said.
“You don’t want to be walking away from a 13-year career with nothing to show for it, even though you have so much.”
Claxton also addressed the cultural issues that has plagued the Hockeyroos for the better part of a decade.
Years of discontent within the Hockeyroos’ set-up reached boiling point late in 2020 when players publicly aired allegations of bullying.
Hockey Australia launched an independent review which found a dysfunctional culture existed within the national women’s high-performance program and triggered the exits of coaches, players and administrators.
“You can hold on to a lot of resentment to certain players that made it about themselves but I don’t think they will ever see it that way,” Claxton said of her frustrations during that period.
“In the end the good people stick around and that’s what happened.
“They made it an amazing experience, the last six months, and I’m so incredibly proud to be part of that and know I’m leaving a group that’s so caring for each other.”
Tensions again simmered on the eve of the Olympics when veteran strike Rosie Malone was controversially left out of the squad.
The team backed the call, which was unsuccessfully protested by Malone, and Claxton insisted their unity leading in and during the Paris tilt had been stronger than ever.
“I’m definitely leaving it in a better place,” she said.
“We had some really tough years four or five years ago, made drastic changes and they needed to happen.
“That’s both with players and coaching staff being removed and now it’s an incredible environment to be a part of and I’m so jealous of what they get to step into leading into LA (2028 Olympics).”
– With AAP
