Jane's Story
Fast Facts
Sport: Hockey
Event: Women's
Olympic History: Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020
Year Born: 1992
State Born: SA
About Jane
After bursting onto the national hockey scene in 2013, Jane-Anne ‘Jane’ Claxton made her Olympic debut at Rio 2016 in the midfield for the Hockeyroos.
The Aussies had a tough start to their 2016 Olympic campaign, going down 2-1 against both Great Britain and the USA in their opening two pool matches. Despite this disappointment, the side went on to secure three consecutive wins against India, Argentina and Japan, leaving them to face Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in the quarter-finals. Hopes of a medal finish were dashed as the Aussies went down 4-2 to the Kiwis, leaving the ladies to finish in 6th place.
Jane won gold at the 2013 Australian Youth Olympic Festival with a 2-1 victory over China. The same year she was crowned the South Australian Sports Institute Junior Female Athlete of the Year.
She secured herself as a regular in the Australian side in 2013 when she helped win gold at the Oceania Cup and the World League Semi-Final, as well as silver in with World League Final. In 2014 Jane helped Australia claim gold at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and silver at the Netherlands World Cup.
2015 was a huge year for the midfielder, being selected in all major international tournaments that year.
She became a Commonwealth Games silver medallist on the Gold Coast in April 2018. Jane was also part of the silver medal winning Hockeyroos team at FIH’s 2019 Pro League, losing to The Netherlands on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
The Adelaide-born athlete credits her father Bob, a Hockey Australia life member, and her brother for her entry into hockey. At the age of six, she began playing in a mixed-gender competition, and although the rough and tumble of playing with the boys nearly put her off, she has never looked back.
Jane became a dual Olympian as part of the Hockeyroos squad that travelled to Japan for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (in 2021). An undefeated group stage for Australia was followed up by a tense quarter-final loss against India, which ended 1-0.
Read More
