By Shamsiya Hussainpoor
Emerald star Amy Lawton is representing the Green and Gold Hockeyroos Team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Lawton is not new to the world of finest athletes, she’s had several successful opportunities in her young career, including Oceania Cup 2019, FIH Pro League 2019, 2020 to 2021, 2022 to 2023, Tokyo Olympics 2020 (2021), World Cup in 2022 and Commonwealth Games in 2022.
She is the fourth youngest Hockeyroo to compete at an Olympic Games.
Even though this is Lawton’s second Olympics, the excitement and the nervousness remains the same.
“Waiting for such an awesome moment, opening that email I was just so nervous because I experienced it before, I was obviously very excited, and it was a huge relief at the same time because I’ve had this build up for so long,” Lawton said.
“Straight away, I called mum and dad, and I celebrated with them later.”
Selection for teams is quite different to individual athletes.
Teams are typically qualified a year earlier, but the individual athletes for the team are not picked until quite close to the games.
“We know that time is coming up, we all receive the email at the exact same time – our status of the selection and routine selection, I was lucky to be home during that period, and I was stoked to be on the team again,” she said.
During her last Olympics, her parents couldn’t attend the games due to Covid lockdowns, but this year, they are over the moon to join and support their daughter play live in front of thousands of people worldwide.
“Having the opportunity for them to be able to come to games and be here to experience it with me is pretty cool and I’m really looking forward to it as the games begin, because it’s really difficult not having your support network,” she said.
“I’ve got teammates here who are part of the sport and work, but families that are close to me are also really important, riding the highs and lows without them in Tokyo was a bit tough, and it’s awesome they can be here.
“They’ve already got all their merch ready, hoping to see me in the green and old in the crowd.”
The Lawton family are no strangers to the world of athletes. Lawton’s parents were born and raised in Zimbabwe where both played squash for Zimbabwe and both played hockey at school where Lawton’s father was captain of the Zimbabwe school boy team.
Every successful athlete has had an idol growing up – usually someone famous, but for Lawton it’s always been those closest to her.
“There are so many amazing athletes, and they all have their own unique qualities that they portray, but for me as a kid, my mum and dad were the ones that I always wanted to be like them,” she said.
“They played sports growing up in Zimbabwe, they were super active and loved sports, and I wanted them to be proud of me, and wanted to show them I could do it.
“They inspired me to be better every day and work harder.”
Her parents moved to the UK where Amy and her younger sister Josie were both born.
The family then relocated to Melbourne when Lawton was five-years old.
She played her first hockey game at Casey Cannons when she was eight-years old, while also doing Little Athletics and was a talented soccer player.
She joined the Southern United Hockey Club – she grew up playing in mixed teams.
Her extraordinary career kicked in when the pathway to the national team came and she was identified at the 2018 Australian U21 Championships which saw her secure a scholarship with the Victorian Institute of Sport.
She played every match of the 2018 Oceania Youth Olympic Games Qualifiers in Papua New Guinea, Youth Olympic Games in Argentina, and 2018 U21 Trans-Tasman Series.
Later she was selected in the Hockeyroos team for the Tokyo Test Event in 2019, her performances seeing her named for the 2019 Oceania Cup in Rockhampton.
The Emerald star scored her maiden Hockeyroos goal in a 2-2 draw with Japan at the Tokyo Test Event.
Outside of her playing time, she spent Friday afternoons and Sunday coaching U10 players at Southern United HC, as well as helping in the canteen and volunteering in other capacities.
“For me, being in my second Olympic campaign, there was definitely a bit more expectation on myself to be in a position to be selected again, in the last games, I was more of giving it my best shot and I had nothing to lose whereas this time it was more of, I’ve got everything to lose kind of thing,” she said.
“You never know that you’re safe, you never want to feel too secure in your spot, and that’s the part of having a squat training together until the team’s picked because everyone is fighting for that spot.”
“But that helps us to be better as we now head into games, because we’ve worked harder in the earlier stages to fight for the positions.”
The game is 60 minutes long, it’s crucial to keep up the energy and as well as a positive attitude.
“We’ve been working a lot on mindfulness and how we approach each situation, but for me, individually, I’m coming into these games knowing I just need to do my job here and to play the game the best that we can,” Lawton said.
“For people watching at home, we can see that and it’s an enjoyment for us as a group.
“Hopefully we can bring home the gold, and I can show it around, we get back.”
