Not just attending an Olympic Games, but also doing extremely well at those Games. I think that anyone who enters a sport, at any age or when you go into the junior or senior ranks, as Aran said that is the pinnacle of our sport. Going to an Olympics really is that, isn’t it? For such a strong hockey nation that gets such strong results in other competitions, we’d like to amend that total of gold medals that we have.”Īnd Jane, you’ve already mentioned childhood dreams. So, we are looking forward to going to prove ourselves at an Olympics, because we have only won one gold medal as a nation. I was lucky enough to go to one, and it was interesting circumstances for me as it didn’t go as well as we would have liked. For us, we really enjoy going to the Olympic Games. That is where we want to be, performing at our best under the pressure that we get from family and friends, the media and so on. But for us, the Olympic Games is the major event on our timeline as hockey players. Not just for you, but also your family.Īran Zalewski: “As hockey players, all we want to do is compete, play internationals and play at the highest level at the ultimate events like World Cups and the Commonwealth Games. Aran, I appreciate the results didn’t go the Kookaburras’ way at Rio 2016, but it still must have been an incredibly proud moment to step out for your first match at an Olympic competition. To represent your country at the Olympic Games, arguably the world’s biggest sporting stage, must mean a great deal both of you. For us, to narrow our focus, and how close the Olympics are now, it certainly feels much more real for me and a lot of the guys.” That has still been difficult, being here in Australia, due to the amount of isolation we have and our strict boarder requirements. Last year there was a lot more uncertainty about what we might be doing and how the schedule looked in terms of the amount of matches we might play in the build-up to the Olympics.
For us, this year has been a fair bit easier, as we’ve been able to narrow our focus towards Tokyo. Jane Claxton: “As you said, I guess it has been a year of contemplation and hope that it would go ahead, so to get confirmation earlier this year that we are actually going to an Olympic Games, fulfilling a lot of childhood dreams, I think the group by and large are just very excited.”Īnd you, Aran – how are Kookaburras feeling about the that it is getting so close.Īran Zalewski: “I certainly echo Jane’s words. With everything that has happened over the past 18 months and covid delaying the Games by one year, are you excited about the prospect of competing at Tokyo 2020? We’ll start with you, Jane. Jane Claxton, Aran Zalewski, thank you so much for talking to us about the upcoming Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
The interview was recorded in May, before the Australia’s Olympic squads were finalised. Jane Claxton and Aran Zalewski, both long time servants of the Australian national teams who will be in the heart of the action in Tokyo, tell us about how the preparations are going in their respective quests for gold. In the latest of our Olympic Spotlight series, we focus on the men’s and women’s teams of Australia, two sides that will very much fancy their chances of achieving glory at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
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