Born: Busselton, W.A.
12 March, 1963
Sharon Buchanan adds to a long list of Western Australian players to stride the international hockey stage after learning her skills in the South-West.
At just 12 years of age, she was selected in the State under 16 team to start an outstanding career that would see her chosen for four Olympic Games. Initially an inside forward, she later settled into the role of centre-half. Her game was based on skill and uncanny ability to eliminate opponents. At 16, she was selected for the Moscow Olympic Games, but the team’s participation was thwarted by a political boycott.
Four years later, she made her Olympic debut in the team that finished fourth at Los Angeles. At Seoul in 1988, she was an integral member of the gold medal winning team and sealed Australia’s place in the final by scoring two goals in the semi-final win over the Netherlands.
In 1989, she captained Australia to a silver medal in the Champion’s Trophy in Frankfurt and was at the helm when Sydney hosted the World Cup the next year, when Australia was defeated 3-1 in the final by the Netherlands. In 1991, she won a gold medal in the Champion’s Trophy at Berlin, where her outstanding performances earned her the Player or the Series award. In 1992, she captained Australia to fifth place at the Barcelona Olympics.
She retired shortly after winning a gold medal at the 1993 Champion’s Trophy in Amsterdam, having represented her country in a record 186 internationals. She was chosen in a world XI three times – in 1988, 1990 and 1991.