Hockeyroo star Casey Sablowski chasing third and final Olympic Games in Rio

HOCKEYROO star Casey Sablowski is eyeing Rio and her third Olympics, but she has much bigger things planned on the home front.

2XU garment photoshoot with Hockey Australia athletes. Perth Hockey Stadium. Friday 4th March. Curtin, Perth WA.. Photo: Daniel Carson

IT was always Casey Sablowski’s goal to take part in three Olympic Games, a box she’s likely to tick in Rio if, as expected, she’s selected in the squad, but the 27-year-old has hinted it could also be her last.

Sablowski, who hails from the South Coast of NSW, made her Hockeyroos debut at the age of 17 and three years later, in 2009, she was named the FIH World Young Player of the Year.

It’s been a stellar career ever since, but after marrying her long-time partner Scott in 2014 she has set herself a new goal — starting a family.

Hockeyroo Casey Sablowski is aiming to finish her Olympic career with gold in Rio.

The couple are based in WA, which is where Hockey Australia’s high performance unit is, but a move back to NSW is on the cards after Rio.

“At the moment the only thing I am sure about is that my husband and I want to start a family, so that’s going to be the priority after Rio,” Sablowski said. “I think at that stage we’ll have to reassess where we’re living — we’re both from NSW and ideally when we start a family we want to both be close to our families and friends. For me it will be just taking a back step from hockey and allowing him to pursue his career and where that takes us. He’s teaching, so it just depends on where he’s working and I’ll be the supportive wife for him. They’ve given up a lot of their time and effort for us, so it would be nice to repay the favour.”

It means there’s added motivation to finish among the medals this campaign, especially after the devastation Sablowski experienced in the past two Olympics when the Hockeyroos only managed to end in fifth place.

“I’m really excited at the prospect of going, but for me coming away with two fifth places at the two previous Olympics, I’m really hungry for that gold medal,” she said. “I think preparation has probably shifted a little bit for me in the last two or three years knowing how devastating it is to come close and miss out on semi-finals, so I think I’ve definitely left no stone unturned for this campaign. Physically I’m in pretty good shape so far and I’m just hoping the body holds out until then.

“I knew I was probably in the age bracket where I could make three Olympic Games, that was always a bit of a goal of mine. Along the way you have different setbacks and you start to re-evaluate — different things happen in life where you questions things. But I always knew I wanted to go my third Olympic Games. I’m really hungry for the gold medal in Rio, that would just be a nice little send off.”

Sablowski, born Eastham, has hockey in her blood. Both her parents played the sport, as did her brother and extended family. Sablowski herself took up the sport at the tender age of five, playing in a mixed competition for a team called Albion Park until she switched to women’s hockey at the age of 12, and her rise to national level was, as she describes it, was “rapid”. But it also required her to leave home and head west for Perth.

Casey Sablowski is chasing gold in Rio de Janeiro.

“It was pretty rapid coming into the Australian team. I was young, I debuted at 17 and moved over to the institute at 18, so I moved away from family and friends, which was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do at such a young age,” she said. “It was completely across the other side of the country, you can’t just pop home and have someone look after you, you have to grow up quite quickly.”

She also had to nurse herself through various injury setbacks along the way, though she counts herself as fortunate not to have experienced anything career-threatening.

“I’ve definitely had my fair share of injuries, but fortunately I’ve had no major concerns that have been career-threatening,” Sablowski said. “I’m thankful nothing like that has come about. It’s just about managing soft tissue injuries, recurring hamstrings, tears and strains. I’ve had a fractured eye socket along the way and a torn Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL). In all I consider myself quite lucky to have had the few serious injuries I’ve had.”

Though unsure of what the future holds after Rio, it’s bound to be an emotional Olympic Games for Sablowski no matter the result. Either way, she can’t wait to get to Rio for what could be her final campaign.

“It probably won’t hit me until after it’s all over,” she said.

“Rio is such a vibrant city and Brazil, I’ve never been there, so it will be cool to try and experience it. We’re not too concerned with anything that’s come out in the press, I’m sure the AOC and every one of our medical staff will ensure our safety.”

HOCKEYROOS LEAVING NOTHING TO CHANCE

FTER a disappointing London Olympics that saw them finish fifth, Hockeyroos star Casey Sablowski is confident a medal is on the cards this time around.

The Hockeyroos have worked tirelessly over the last four years and with a far more experienced squad, mixed with some exciting young talent, heading to Rio later this year, even gold is within their sights.

“The last four years for us was about bridging the gap, particularly on the Dutch,” Sablowski said. “They were clearly the world No. 1 and there were a lot of teams hunting them down. I think we established ourselves quite well, especially over the last two years with strong performances at the World Cup and some of our major competitions each calendar year. So really taking steps forward and I think we’ve now put ourselves in the best position to take a medal, but we’ve just got to realise that everyone is going to be thinking that they’re more than capable of coming away with that, so we’ve got to make sure that our performance on the day is as high is it can be.”

It’s not just physical preparation, but a focus on mental preparation has been a key aspect of their program.

“One of the values we hold strongly is being professional,” she said. “We’ve been a team that’s generally considered ourselves quite professional, but we’ve really stepped up in different areas of our preparation, whether it’s game analysis, team analysis, nutrition — all those things we’ve tapped into different resources. The mental side of it we’ve spent a lot on building mental strength, our resilience over the past three or four years, and that’s a huge part of our game.”

The Hockeyroos, like the Kookaburras, are based in Perth at Hockey Australia’s High Performance unit. It’s a full time program and Sablowski says the amount of time they have spent together over the years will stand them in excellent stead for Rio.

“We have become really close, a really tight knit group,” she said. “We’ve all got the same goal going forward, which obviously helps and allows the team to bond. Like any industry you’ve got to manage different personalities, but that’s part and parcel of the job.”

Originally published as Hockeyroo star Casey Sablowski chasing third and final Olympic Games in Rio