Aran Zalewski

Aran Zalewski realised his Olympic dream when he was selected to make his debut at the Rio Games fresh off winning the 2016 Champion’s Trophy.

The Aussie’s Olympic campaign kicked off with a 2-1 win over trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand but despite starting strong, the side then suffered back-to-back 1-0 losses to Spain and Belgium. Determined to claim their third straight Olympic medal, the Aussies then secured a 2-1 win over Great Britain which saw Aran score in the 50th minute. The side then backed this up with a 9-0 victory over Brazil, setting themselves up for a quarter-final clash against the no.2 ranked side, the Netherlands. The Aussies quickly saw their hopes of a gold medal fade as the Dutch secured a 4-0 win, knocking the favourites out of the Olympic competition.

The midfielder made his international debut in 2011 against India in his home state of Western Australia. Aran scored on debut, in the 57th minute, a moment he still marks as a career highlight. Ahead of the London Games, Aran was selected in the men's national Olympic development squad.

Nick-named ‘Moose’, many of his Australian teammates believe Aran bleaches his hair before every tournament, a rumour which he denies, saying his messy hair is a naturally occurring style.

In 2018 Aran won gold with the Kookaburras at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. He then went on to co-captain the team to Champions Trophy gold in the Netherlands beating India (3-1 on penalties) in the final, scoring one of the goals in the penalty shoot-out.

Aran became a two-time Olympian in Tokyo 2020, where he and the Kookaburras claimed the silver medal after reaching the gold medal match for the first time since 2004. He would score in Australia’s opening game against Japan which they won 5-3, indicative of the rest of the Kookaburras group stage campaign, where they went undefeated.

In 2022, Aran scored three goals as the Kookaburras won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, thrashing India 7-0 in the final.

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.

He was also among the goal-scorers at the 2023 Hockey World Cup in India, where Australia lost 3-1 to the Netherlands in the bronze medal match.

The Kookaburras qualified for Paris when they ground out a 3-1 win over traditional rivals New Zealand to retain the Oceania Cup in Whangarei.

Aran has a bachelor of commerce from Curtin University and works part-time as a senior consultant with Deloitte in Perth.