Joshua Beltz

Josh Beltz was first noticed by Australian officials and placed in their development squad after his part in the Tassie Tigers first Australian Hockey League gold medal in 2014, after they drew 2-2 with the WA Thundersticks but won 3-2 on penalties.

A goal on debut for the Kookaburras against Fiji at the 2015 Oceania Cup in New Zealand, heralded Josh’s arrival on the international stage.

Josh has two Oceania Cup gold medals from the 2015 and 2017 tournaments. In 2016, he was a member of the Junior World Cup team that finished in fourth overall. Earlier in the year, Josh was a member of the gold medal-winning team at the 2016 Champions Trophy. 

Josh made his Olympic debut for the Kookaburras at Tokyo 2020. The Australians started the tournament forcibly, going undefeated in the group stage. Josh contributed his debut Olympic goal in their 7-1 thrashing of India.

They reached the gold medal final for the first time since 2004 but unfortunately fell short to Belgium in a dramatic penalty shootout.

In 2022, he played a key role as the Kookaburras won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, thrashing India 7-0 in the final.

It was an emphatic statement from a Kookaburras team that is near unstoppable when at the peak of their powers. The result continued the Kookaburras’ remarkable record of winning every Commonwealth Games gold medal since men’s hockey was introduced to the Games in 1998.

After missing the 2018 World Cup through injury, Josh was a valuable contributor in the team that played in the 2023 event, where Australia lost 3-1 to the Netherlands in the bronze medal match.

Josh ticked off his 100th appearance for the Kookaburras at the 2023 Oceania Cup in Whangarei, where the team clinched a place at the Paris Olympics with a 3-1 win over traditional rivals New Zealand.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics Josh and the Kookaburras defeated Argentina (1-0), Ireland (2-1) and New Zealand (5-0) in the group stage, which included losses to India (3-2) and Belgium (6-2).

Through to the quarter-finals, that's where their campaign would end with a 2-0 loss to the eventual Olympic gold medallists, the Netherlands.

Josh plays for the Tassie Tigers in the Hockey One league and away from the hockey field, he works as a graduate engineer.