Eddie Ockenden takes on 2024 Paris Olympics as flag bearer and most capped athlete

The boy from Tasmania is a five-time Olympian and legend in hockey circles. Outside his sport he is unknown... or he used to be until the Australian Olympic team flag bearer announcement.

Eddie Ockenden might be Australia’s most capped athlete. If only he kept count.

He’s made over 400 appearances for the Kookaburras - a record in hockey - but thinks his fellow Tasmanian Ricky Ponting might have more, depending on whether or not tour games are counted.

Not that he is losing sleep over it, or even keeping record, because Ockenden is one of Australian sport’s great unsung heroes who now has the honor of carrying the Australian flag at the Opening Ceremony alongside canoeist Jess Fox.

A five-time Olympian, he is a legend in the hockey world but a stranger outside, which is how he likes it.

“That’s something that’s pretty common to hockey players. It’s a community sport, “ he told this masthead.

Eddie Ockenden has played more than 400 matches for the Kookaburras. Picture: Getty Images

“My mum played, so I was obviously around the hockey centre a lot watching her, and I guess I just gravitated towards it.”

An all-round athlete who played a lot of sports as a kid, Ockenden fell in love with the Olympics early on and began to see hockey as a way to get there.

The Olympics started to become a realistic goal from 2006, when he was picked to play for the Kookaburras for the first time.

“I still remember when I first made the team,” he said. “I felt like a fish out of water, obviously being young, but just thinking, I’d watched these guys win a gold medal in Athens a few years before.

Jess Fox and Eddie Ockenden will carry the flag at the opening ceremony. Picture: Michael Klein

“I didn’t know if I’d fit in or if I was good enough, which I guess is a natural thing to think.

“Then in 2008, I was selected for my first Olympics in Beijing, which was really a sort of childhood dream come true moment.”

He won a bronze medal and was hooked straight away.

“It really was so exciting because it’s not just the realisation of your dream, it makes you think back to when you’re a kid and you loved everything,” he said.

“It’s definitely one of the coolest things that you can do, in my opinion, it’s such a great event.

“I really love going. It’s a lot of excitement and joy as well, it’s a big challenge because you are under pressure to perform but it’s something I really love.

“I think it is really important to soak in the Olympic environment, to enjoy it, but also you’re there to do your sport.

“I love everything about the Olympics, all the other sports, the village, the dining hall. I love all that stuff. It’s great. It’s awesome.

“But the thing I love the most is still going out to play hockey. I never felt like I’ve lost sight of that’s the main reason why we’re there. And it’s actually the thing that I like doing the most. So you may as well make the most of it.

“Looking back on some Olympics, it’s hard to think which one’s your best? Is it because we did well or we played well or we medalled or whatever? In my opinion, you’ve got to go and enjoy the stuff if it fits in. But you want to make sure you’re doing your sport as good as you can. Otherwise, I guess you’re doing yourself a disservice a little bit.”

Ockenden won a second bronze medal four years later in London.

The Kookaburras missed the podium in Rio but bounced back to claim silver in Tokyo, losing the gold medal match with the Netherlands on penalties.

He’s also won four gold medals at the Commonwealth Games and in 2022, he was given a taste of the honour awaiting him in Paris when he was chosen to carry the flag at the opening ceremony in Birmingham.

Eddie Ockenden is a Tassie boy and five-time Olympian with his sights set on gold. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

“That was very different because all of a sudden I felt it’s difficult to go and enjoy this because I felt like I just couldn’t make a mistake,” he said.

“So I was a bit more nervous, but I really approached it as it’s a fantastic thing for our sport. I thought a lot about the guys that have played for the Kookaburras and the Hockeyroos before.”

Carrying the Australia flag is the ultimate recognition but Ockenden said it won’t change anything about what his top goal is.

“You also want to go and win a gold medal,” he said. “And that’s a realistic expectation.

“You want to put yourself in a position to do that through your preparation and, through your form.

“If I had already won a gold medal, I’d still want to go and win this gold medal.

“We’re in a really good position. We have a great opportunity. The mix that we have is incredible. We have very good depth in our squad and recent performances have been very encouraging.

“If we’re playing sort of free flowing and attacking good hockey, the results will take care of themselves because our best is easily good enough.”

Originally published as Eddie Ockenden takes on 2024 Paris Olympics as flag bearer and most capped athlete