Olympics 2024: Jane Claxton’s last bow looms as Hockeyroos finally get their act together in Paris

Hockeyroos captain Jane Claxton is preparing for her Olympic curtain call, having squeezed a lifetime of memories — good and bad— into her 250-game career. This is why she believes the Hockeyroos are in the best spot they have been.

Hockeyroos captain Jane Claxton has declared Australian women’s hockey has finally built rock-solid cultural foundations as she prepares to make her final Olympics bow in the next 10 days.

Claxton has confirmed she will retire after the Paris Olympics, having driven the cultural overhaul of the sport along with coach Trinny Powell in the past three years.

The sports leaders have pledged to players and their families they are working hard to change perceptions in the sport after too many negative headlines and a pair of Hockeyroos coaches sacked amid allegations of a toxic culture.

The third pool game against America will be Claxton’s 250th Hockeyroos cap, and ahead of a cutthroat quarter final could yet be her fourth last game for Australia.

Hockeyroos player Jane Claxton with Deputy Chef de Mission Bronwen Knox. Picture: Getty Images

But with a European holiday planned with teammate Renee Taylor as she also frantically plans her wedding to her fiance Matt, the occupational therapist who works in the disability sector knows it is the perfect time to make way for the younger breed.

Australia’s tense victory over South Africa then a barnstorming 4-0 defeat of Great Britain have put the Hockeyroos top of their pool.

So Claxton is ready for the challenges ahead while also reflective of an international career with so many highs and lows given the turbulence at the forefront of the women’s hockey side in the past decade.

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“I am going out on my own terms. Calling it a day is a privilege,” she said.

“Mentally there is the day in and day out strain. People don’t see it, they only see the Commonwealth Games or Olympics every two years. But it gets to the point where you get up in the morning and you think, “Is this still for me?”.

“So you kind of know when your time is up as an athlete and it was definitely around the Olympic cycle.”

She is savouring her final sets of “lasts” _ last selection process, last arrival into the village _ as she was reminded by triathlon star Emma Moffat as they ran into each other this week.

“I said, this is the last one, and she said, “That is so cool when you know you are having the last little moments in your career and you make sure you take in every moment.”

Jane Claxton is in the midst of her last hurrah with the Hockeyroos. Picture: Getty Images

None of her career has been plain sailing, especially during what should have been Olympic highlights.

Coach Adam Commens was sacked after the Rio Olympics after exposing himself and making lewd remarks to a series of players during celebrations after crashing out in the quarterfinals.

Then leading into the Tokyo Olympics coach Paul Gadoin was stood down only months before the tournament and replaced by Hockeyroos legend Trinny Powell after a series of allegations about bullying and a toxic culture.

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Powell and captain Claxton have together worked to improve the culture as Hockey Australia desperately attempts to right the ship after five Olympics without a medal for the women’s side.

“Every Olympic cycle coming from a sporting country like Australia medals are expected and the last two Olympics we have fallen short and there are vastly different reasons as to why,” she said.

“But this time around there is definitely a different vibe in the group. There is a lot of maturity and a lot of girls who have been around for a long time in international hockey,” she said.

“Tokyo we went in a bit scrambled with a change of coach two months out and she galvanised the group really well. I don’t know how she did it.

“Since then we have changed how we play and we have a better work-life balance for the lack of a better term.

“If you are happy, you play great hockey.

“There was more lip service before and when it came to the crunch there was more of a push towards hockey being your singular focus.

“The last three years have been the most enjoyable of my career with the increased understanding of the pressures on elite sport for each individual.”