Jamie's Story
Jamie Dwyer made Australian history by becoming the oldest men’s hockey player at the Games as he made his fourth Olympic appearance at Rio.
The 2016 Aussie Olympic campaign kicked off with a 2-1 win over trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand but despite starting strong, the side then suffered back-to-back 1-0 losses to Spain and Belgium. Determined to claim their third straight Olympic medal, the side then secured a 2-1 win over Great Britain and a 9-0 victory over Brazil which included Dwyer’s two goals of the 2016 Games. The Aussies had set themselves up for a quarter-final clash against the number 2 ranked side, the Netherlands but hopes of a gold medal quickly faded as the Dutch secured a 4-0 win, knocking the green and gold favourites out of the Olympic competition.
The 37-year-old’s record at the highest level speaks for itself having won five world's best player awards, Olympic gold, two Olympic bronze medals, three Commonwealth gold medals, World Cup gold and five Champions Trophy tournaments.
Having been selected to make his debut in 2001, Dwyer won his first of three consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medals in Manchester in 2002. He became a household name when he scored the winning goal for Australia at his first Olympic Games in Athens as he secured the first Olympic gold medal for the Australian men's hockey team after 48 years of participation in Olympic competition. It was in the same year that his heroics saw him win his first world's best player of the year award.
He led the team to their first World Cup victory in 24 years in 2010 when Australia broke their long standing drought after a hard fought 2-1 victory over Germany in the final. The Top Australian goal scorer of 2015 (16 goals) will head to Rio having played over 350 games and scoring over 234 goals for Australia and will be looking to confirm Australia's number one ranking in the world.
Throughout his record breaking career Dwyer has also tested himself in tough European competitions, playing in both Holland and Germany, with his latest stint being for Dutch side Bloemendaal H.C. Dwyer's brother in-law is fellow hockey Olympian Mark Knowles.
