Jane Claxton

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

The result inspired Jane and the Hockeyroos to work even harder and in 2022 they collected bronze in the FIH Women’s World Cup.

Later that year, the Hockeyroos won silver at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. They were undefeated in the pool games and after beating India in a penalty shootout in the semi-final, they went down to England 2-1 in the gold medal game.

In 2023, the Hockeyroos finished third in the Women’s International Pro League, before clinching a place at the Paris Olympics by winning the Oceania Cup series against New Zealand.

They won the opening game 3-0, before Jane set up the most decisive goal of the series to secure a 1-1 draw in the second match. A 3-2 win in the third game sealed the series 2-0.

A Dachshund enthusiast who has a bachelor of occupational therapy, Jane works in vocational rehabilitation, helping injured workers to return to their chosen occupation.

Balancing work and a gruelling training routine can be tough, but Jane wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I actually get restless if things are too quiet. I like to keep busy,’’ she said.

And her advice for a happy work-life-training balance?

“Don’t expect yourself to be motivated every day. There are times I rock up to training and I struggle to get through it,’’ she said.

“But I guess the key is to show up. Turn up, do the work and motivation will follow. It’s about removing those pressures and expectations and being kind to yourself.”