Mark Knowles (field hockey)

Mark Knowles

Personal information
Nationality	Australia
Sport
Country	Australia
Sport	Field hockey
Event(s)	Men's team
Medal record Men's field hockey Competitor for  Australia Olympic Games 2004 Athens Team 2008 Beijing Team 2012 London Team World Cup 2014 The Hague Team Champions Trophy 2005 Chennai Team 2012 Melbourne Team 2007 Kuala Lumpur Team

Mark Knowles is an Australian field hockey player. He has played professional hockey in the Netherlands. He plays for the Queensland Blades in the Australian Hockey League. He is a member of the Australia men's national field hockey team. He won a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2014 World Cup, the 2005 and 2012 Champions Trophy.

Personal

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

Field hockey

Knowles played professional hockey in 2008^[4] and 2011 in the Netherlands.^[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

Knowles is a member 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

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.^[17]

References

1. "Kookaburras begin their Olympic Games Campaign". Perth, Western Australia: Hockey Australia. 7 February 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
2. "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. "Mark Knowles Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
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. "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. Malarski, Paul (22 May 2006). "Tassie teenager in Australian team". Hobart Mercury (Hobart, Australia). p. 48. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
8. "Ockenden to miss Trophy But Dancer recalls Wells". Hobart Mercury (Hobart, Australia). 5 October 2007. p. 48. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
9. "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". 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". 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. AAP (14 December 2011). "Kookaburras name training squad for 2012 Olympic Games". Sydney: Daily Telegraph. 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". Daily Telegraph (Sydney, Australia). 15 December 2011. p. 116. DTM_T-20111215-1-116-447684. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
17. O'Neill, Brent (19 January 2012). "Sports extra with Brent O'Neill". City North News (Brisbane, Australia). p. 47. Retrieved 14 March 2012.