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Mark Knowles (field hockey)

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Mark Knowles
OAM
Personal information
NationalityAustralian
Born (1984-03-10) 10 March 1984 (age 40)
Sport
CountryAustralia
SportField hockey
Medal record
Men's field hockey
Representing  Australia
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens Team
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing Team
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London Team
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2010 New Delhi
Gold medal – first place 2014 The Hague
Silver medal – second place 2006 Mönchengladbach
Champions Trophy
Gold medal – first place 2005 Chennai
Gold medal – first place 2008 Rotterdam
Gold medal – first place 2009 Melbourne
Gold medal – first place 2012 Melbourne
Silver medal – second place 2007 Kuala Lumpur
Oceania Cup
Gold medal – first place 2015 Stratford
Gold medal – first place 2017 Sydney
World League
Gold medal – first place 2014–15 Raipur Team
Gold medal – first place 2016–17 Bhubaneswar Team
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2006 Melbourne Team
Gold medal – first place 2010 Delhi Team
Gold medal – first place 2014 Glasgow Team
Gold medal – first place 2018 Gold Coast Team

Mark William Knowles OAM (born 10 March 1984) is the Australian field hockey captain. He has played professional hockey in the Netherlands for HC Rotterdam. He plays for the Queensland Blades in the Australian Hockey League. He has been the captain of the Australia men's national field hockey team the Kookaburras since 2014. He won a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2014 World Cup, the 2005 and 2012 Champions Trophy.His most recent achievements include coming second in the 2024 Memorial Cup match to the Northern Suburbs Eagles. Another silver medal was added to Knowles’s tally, with a lost to Labrador Hockey Club in the BHL Division 1 Grand Final.

Personal

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Mark Knowles is from Rockhampton, Queensland.[1][2] He lives in Brisbane with his wife, Kelly (sister of Australian Hockey teammate, Jamie Dwyer) and their two sons.[3]

Field hockey

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Knowles played professional hockey in 2008[4] and 2011 in the Netherlands for HC Rotterdam.[5] He plays for the Queensland Blades in the Australian Hockey League. In 2010, he played in the final game of the season for his team.[6]

National team

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Knowles is the captain of the Australia men's national field hockey team.[7][8][9] In 2006, he represented Australia at the Azlan Shah tournament in Malaysia.[7] He competed in the 2007 Champions Trophy competition for Australia.[8] In December 2007, he was a member of the Kookaburras squad that competed in the Dutch Series in Canberra.[10] In January 2008, he was a member of the senior national team that competed at the Five Nations men's hockey tournament in South Africa.[11] He was a member of the 2009 Champions Trophy winning team, playing in the gold medal match against Germany that Australia won by a score of 5–3.[12] New national team coach Ric Charlesworth named him, a returning member, and fourteen total new players who had few than 10 national team caps to the squad before in April 2009 in a bid to ready the team for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.[13] He was a member of the national team in 2010.[6] That year, he was a member of the team that finished first at the Hockey Champions Trophy.[6] Because of other commitments, he could not compete at the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia in May 2011.[9] In December 2011, he was named as one of twenty-eight players to be on the 2012 Summer Olympics Australian men's national training squad. This squad will be narrowed in June 2012. He trained with the team from 18 January to mid-March in Perth, Western Australia.[14][15][16] In February during the training camp, he played in a four nations test series with the teams being the Kookaburras, Australia A Squad, the Netherlands and Argentina.[1] He is one of several Queensland based players likely to play in a three-game test series to be played in Cairns, Queensland from 22 to 25 June against the New Zealand's Black Stickss. Final Olympic section will occur several days before this test and his inclusion in the series will be contingent upon being selected.[2]

Recognition

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Mark Knowles during the Queen's Baton Relay in Rockhampton, 2018

In the 2005 Australia Day Honours, Knowles was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) "for service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games."[17]

In 2007, Knowles was honoured by being named the Young Player of the Year by the International Hockey Federation. In 2015, Knowles was honoured by being named the 2014 World Player of the Year, following on from his performances at the 2014 Hockey World Cup, by the International Hockey Federation. He has been the Kookaburras captain since 2014.

Knowles was the Australian flag bearer at the 2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony on 4 April 2018.[18] He was also a baton runner during the Rockhampton leg of the Queen's Baton Relay on 23 March 2018 in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games.[19]

In 2024, he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.[20]


References

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  1. ^ a b "Kookaburras begin their Olympic Games Campaign". Perth, Western Australia: Hockey Australia. 7 February 2012. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Cairns hosts international hockey clash". The Cairns Sun. Cairns, Australia. 15 February 2012. p. 4. TSU_T-20120215-1-004-877399. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  3. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Mark Knowles". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  4. ^ Stannard, Damien (7 September 2008). "Ocky has deal with the Dutch". The Sunday Mail. Brisbane, Australia. p. 96. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  5. ^ Singh, Ajitpal (26 April 2011). "New Straits Times (Malaysia): Aussies look powerful despite injury woes". New Straits Times. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  6. ^ a b c "hockey — Top guns take the field for finals". Westside News. Brisbane, Australia. 18 August 2010. p. 79. WSN_T-20100818-1-079-091512. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  7. ^ a b Malarski, Paul (22 May 2006). "Tassie teenager in Australian team". Hobart Mercury. Hobart, Australia. p. 48. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  8. ^ a b "Ockenden to miss Trophy But Dancer recalls Wells". Hobart Mercury. Hobart, Australia. 5 October 2007. p. 48. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Deavin back in 'Burras". Hobart Mercury. Hobart, Australia. 20 April 2011. p. 59. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  10. ^ "Canberra Times: Lakers duo in Kookaburras side for series". The Canberra Times. Canberra, Australia: Financial Times Information Limited — Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. 14 November 2006. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  11. ^ "Bulletin Wire: Fresh faces for next Kookaburras tour". Bulletin Wire. Australia: Financial Times Information Limited — Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. 20 December 2007. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  12. ^ Hand, Guy; AAP (7 December 2009). "Epic fightback from Kookaburras secures perfect 10 - HOCKEY". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, Australia. p. 12. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  13. ^ "Carroll, Abbott in new-look Kookaburras". Northern Territory News. Darwin, Australia. 15 April 2009. p. 46. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  14. ^ "Kookaburras name training squad for 2012 Olympic Games". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Australian Associated Press. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  15. ^ "FOR THE RECORD". The Australian. Sydney, Australia. 15 December 2011. p. 35. AUS_T-20111215-1-035-447690. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  16. ^ "SCOREBOARD". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney, Australia. 15 December 2011. p. 116. DTM_T-20111215-1-116-447684. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  17. ^ "Knowles, Mark William". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  18. ^ O'Neill, Brent (19 January 2012). "Sports extra with Brent O'Neill". City North News. Brisbane, Australia. p. 47. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  19. ^ "Queen's Baton Rocks into Rocky". Gold Coast 2018. 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  20. ^ "Sport Australia Hall of Fame announces eight new Inductees for 2024 | Sport Australia Hall of Fame". 24 October 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
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