Penny Squibb

Hockeyroos defender Penny Squibb knows there is only one thing to do when you get knocked down – get up, dust yourself off and go again, harder. 

Selection in the 2024 national squad gave Karri an opportunity for Olympic redemption in Paris, after her dream of competing in Tokyo was cruelly ended by injury.

Karri, who grew up in the West Australian country town of Tambellup, suffered a leg injury during the Hockeyroos’ pre-Olympic training camp in Darwin in 2021.

Hockeyroos coach Katrina Powell and the team’s medical staff gave Penny until as late as possible to prove her fitness, but she ran out of time.

“It’s the way sport goes ... you win some, you lose some,” Penny said at the time. “I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to be a part of this journey up until now and to be a part of this amazing group.”

It was not the first time Penny had had to deal with disappointment. After making her debut for the Hockeyroos in 2019, she was dropped from the team ahead of Tokyo. 

But rather than wallow in self-pity, Penny took advantage of the delay to the Games due to COVID-19 to work on her game and fight her way back into the squad. 

Growing up in Western Australia’s Great Southern Region, four hours from Perth, Penny played her first game of hockey as a six-year-old, when her older sister broke her arm and her team was one short.

“I played all of my juniors in Tambellup and didn’t play on synthetic turf until I was 13,” Penny said. “I think everyone should have a training session on the grass because you certainly learn to watch the ball more than what you do on turf.”

When she was picked in her first state team at the age of 14, her parents spent months driving her to Perth to play and train. A year later she moved to the city to pursue her sporting dream.

Penny was the equal top scorer in the 2017 Australian Hockey League and was selected in the Australian under-21 team, the Jillaroos, shortly afterwards, before being elevated to the Hockeyroos in 2019.

Recovered from her leg injury after the Tokyo Olympics, Penny was part of the Hockeyroos team that won bronze at the 2022 FIH Women’s World Cup, scoring a goal in a win over South Africa. 

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham she scored a double, also against South Africa, on the way to Australia winning silver. The Hockeyroos were undefeated in the pool games and after beating India in a penalty shootout in the semi-final, they went down to England 2-1 in the gold medal game.

In 2023, the Hockeyroos finished third in the Women’s International Pro League, before clinching a place at the Paris Olympics by winning the Oceania Cup series against New Zealand.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics Penny and the Hockeyroos opened their tournament with three-straight wins against South Africa (2-1), Great Britain (4-0) and the United States (3-0).

A draw with Argentina (3-3) and a win against Spain (3-1) closed the group stage and advanced the Hockeyroos into a quarter-final against China. Coached by Australian Olympic champion Alyson Annan, China prevailed 3-2 to end the Hockeyroos' campaign.

Penny, who works as a teacher, says one of her favourite sayings is, 'You can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl.'

“When I was back on the farm during the break I needed to do a long steady run and dad needed to do some sheep work, so he told me I can run behind the sheep,” she said.

“That was my run, 45 minutes running behind sheep getting them into the yards. One of my first days back at the farm was on the tractor feeding the cows and I really enjoy that because it gets my brain off hockey and out of Perth. It allows me to be me.”