Alyson Annan
An extremely skilful midfielder with an outstanding goalscoring record, Annan was a pivotal force in the Australian women’s hockey team which saw global dominance for almost a decade. The team’s feats included two World Cups (1994 and 1998) and two Olympic gold medals (1996 and 2000) and five consecutive Champions Trophies in the 1990s.
Alyson Regina Annan OAM (born 21 June 1973 in Wentworthville, New South Wales) is a former field hockey player from Australia, who earned a total number of 228 international caps for the Women's National Team, in which she scored 166 goals.
Annan was voted the Best Female Hockey Player in the World in 1999. In the following year, lead the Australian team to gold at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She subsequently retired from international competition and moved to the Netherlands. In the Netherlands she played for HC Klein Zwitserland from The Hague. She retired in 2003, becoming the coach of Dutch league team HC Klein Zwitserland. In 2004 she was an assistant of Dutch Head Coach Marc Lammers at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, when the Netherlands won silver.
Annan will be the coach of the first women's team of the Amsterdamsche Hockey & Bandy Club during the 2012-2013 season.
International
Major Tournaments:
2000 Olympic Games Gold Medal
1996 Olympic Games Gold Medal
1992 Olympic Games 5th
1998 Hockey World Cup Gold Medal
1994 Hockey World Cup Gold Medal
2001 Champions Trophy 3rd
2000 Champions Trophy 3rd
1999 Champions Trophy Gold Medal
1997 Champions Trophy Gold Medal
1995 Champions Trophy Gold Medal
1993 Champions Trophy Gold Medal
1998 Commonwealth Games Gold Medal
1993 Junior Hockey World Cup Silver Medal
Awards
1994 Team of the Year Australian Sports Awards
1995 Team of the Year Australian Sports Awards
1996 Team of the Year Australian Sports Awards
1996 Player of the Year Australian Women's Hockey Association
1996 Player of the Series Australian Hockey League
1996 New South Wales Sportswoman of the Year
1996 New South Wales Athlete of the Year
1996 Order of Australia Medal
1997 Team of the Year Australian Sports Awards
1997 Player of the Year Australian Women's Hockey Association
1997 Player of the Tournament Champions Trophy
1998 Team of the Year Australian Sports Awards
1998 International Player of the Year International Hockey Federation
1998 Player of the Tournament Hockey World Cup
1998 Finalist World Sportswoman of the Year Women's Sport Foundation (USA)
2000 International Player of the Year International Hockey Federation
2002 Player of the Year Dutch League
2003 Player of the Year Dutch League
2013 Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductee
Personal
Annan was married to Maximiliano Caldas. Her current partner is Carole Thate, a former Dutch hockey captain and fellow Olympic medallist. Annan and Thate had their first child, Sam, in May 2007. Their second son, Cooper, was born in October 2008.