Tambellup-raised hockey star Penny Squibb’s Olympic dream one step closer with squad selection for Paris games

Tambellup-raised hockey star Penny Squibb’s long-awaited Olympic dream is a step closer after she was selected in the Hockeyroos squad for the Olympic Games in Paris later this month. Hockey Australia announced the star-studded Hockeyroos and Kookaburras squads for this year’s Olympic Games on Monday morning in Perth, with Squibb among the 16 Hockeyroos players chasing gold. The star defender was picked to represent the national women’s team at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 before a wretched injury on the eve of the squad’s departure crushed her childhood dream. Since then, the 31-year-old has clawed her way back into the green and gold and been a consistent contributor in the defensive half during international tournaments. Squibb played a key role for the Hockeyroos at the FIH Hockey Pro League series in Antwerp and London against some of the lead countries in preparation for the Paris games. During that time, she notched her 50th international cap and staked her claim for selection at the upcoming Olympics. She is among six Olympic debutants in the Hockeyroos team and was selected alongside fellow West Aussies Karri Sommerville and Jane Claxton while goalkeeper Aleisha Power has been named as a travelling reserve. The Hockeyroos’ first group-stage match is against South Africa on July 28, before they square off against Great Britain, USA, Argentina and Spain in their pool games. The squad boasts an abundance of experience, versatility and flair, with four athletes en route to their third Olympics and six returning for their second Games. “It’s exciting to be celebrating this moment. This is our best 16 players who we believe will give us the best chance of being successful in Paris,” Hockeyroos head coach Katrina Powell said. “There’s good versatility in there, they provide flexibility and the versatility that’s required for the structure of an Olympic Games. “We certainly like to play with speed, skill and variety and this group provides it. We’ve got world-class players spread throughout our whole group, in all of the lines surrounded by talent and then we have some dogged determination in there as well, so it’s a really great mix.”