Mark Knowles

Mark Knowles made his fourth appearance in the men’s Olympic hockey team in Rio, captaining the side with years of experience. The veteran announced his retirement from the sport in April 2018 after claiming Commonwealth Games gold on the Gold Coast.

The 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 Aussies then secured a 2-1 win over Great Britain and a 9-0 victory over Brazil, setting themselves up for a quarter-final clash against the no.2 ranked side, the Netherlands. The Aussies quickly saw their hopes of a gold medal fade as the Dutch secured a 4-0 win, knocking the favourites out of the Olympic competition.

Having played for the Kookaburras since 2004, Knowles has gained significant experience at the highest level that saw him become one of only two players (alongside Jamie Dwyer) that took the field in Rio for a fourth consecutive Olympic Games. The Rockhampton-born veteran was also crowned ‘International Player of the Year’ in 2014.

Knowles made his international debut in 2004 and at 20 years of age became the youngest in the team to win Olympic gold when Australia defeated the Netherlands in the final to claim their first ever Olympic title.

He became a Kookaburras regular and in 2007 won the world's best young player award. He returned to Olympic competition in Beijing but could not help Australia reach the final to defend their Olympic title as the team eventually finished with bronze. The same occurred in London where the side brought home their second Olympic bronze medal.

He was part of the 2010 and 2014 World Cup winning side, has three Commonwealth Games gold medals, is a four-time Champions Trophy winner (2005, 2008, 2009 and 2012) and received 324 caps for his country.