Tom Wickham

Born on the banks of the Murray River, Tom’s first junior club was Bradshaw on the banks of the Todd in Alice Springs.

He made his Kookaburras debut just a few weeks before his 23^rd birthday when he lined up against Korea in a 2013 Test series in Perth. He had moved to WA on an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship two years earlier in 2011.

But after those appearances, more Kookaburras games eluded Tom until a breakout in 2017, when he played all 32 games in the calendar year and scored 14 goals.

He scored two against Pakistan in Darwin, one against India in the Azlan Shah Cup, two more against Japan and Spain in the World League Semi-Final in Johannesburg, seven in the Oceania Cup in Sydney and two at the International Hockey Festival in Melbourne.

Tom finished 2017 with a gold medal in the World League Final in India with a 2-1 win over Argentina. More gold came his way in April 2018 when Tom received a call-up to the Commonwealth Games men’s team.

He made his Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 and his ruthlessness in front of goal for Australia continued, scoring six goals throughout the tournament, the equal third most at the event.

He found the back of the net against the Netherlands in their quarter-finals and against Belgium in the gold medal match. Tom, along with his fellow Kookaburras, received a silver medal after falling just short against Belgium in a penalty shootout.

In 2022, Tom scored five goals as the Kookaburras won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, including doubles against Scotland and Pakistan. Australia demolished India 7-0 in the gold medal match.

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.

Tom was also on the scoreboard at the 2023 Hockey World Cup in India, where Australia lost 3-1 to the Netherlands in the bronze medal match, and was in the squad for the FIH Pro League.

Out of action for much of 2023 with a knee injury, he returned to play for Perth Thundersticks in the Hockey One league late in the year and was named in the Kookaburras 2024 squad.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics Tom 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). Tom contributed one goal in the New Zealand win.

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

After the Paris Games Tom returned to Alice Springs and visited schools to share his Olympic journey and to inspire others as part of the Olympics Unleashed program, which included dropping in on his old primary school and primary school teacher.

Away from the field, Tom runs his own coaching business.