Devastated, heart-broken, sad, lost for words, empty – These a just a few of the words that only touch on how I am feeling at the moment. A nil all draw with world number 2 Argentina, wasn’t enough to see us through the semi-final stages of the Olympic Hockey tournament.

Sport can be a harsh world, and unfortunately for us we were on the receiving end of cruel fate, finishing 3rd in our pool on goal difference behind Argentina and New Zealand (all on 10 points).

4 years of early mornings, limited sleep, injury, rehabilitation, running, skills practice and selection pressures all boiled down to 1 measly goal. It only takes a moment of brilliance or in some cases luck, but no matter how hard we tried the ball didn’t want to find its way into the back of the net. So despite accumulating 10 points in the pool round, beating world #3 Germany and drawing to world #2 Argentina, we were not destined to progress to contend for a medal.

Stepping back and looking logically at the situation that has unfolded over the past few weeks, I know we should be happy and proud of our efforts. Prior to coming to the Olympics, it would be fair to say that we had a number of critics indicating that we did not stand a chance nor look in contention of medalling. In true Hockeyroo style however we played with great strength and determination, to get a result higher than our current world ranking and be highly competitive with the ‘best teams’ in the world. Logic and objectivity about our efforts is however difficult to maintain after years of emotional investment.

Growing up we are often told that ‘hard work pays off’, but when you come away from an Olympics empty-handed after years of work, life doesn’t seem fair or just. So do we tell the younger generation to give up now, because realistically the chances of succeeding and winning a gold medal is slim? The answer is categorically no. Although a gold medal is the classic definition of succeeding, one would be naive to think that our hard work hasn’t resulted in some form of success. So the hard work didn’t win us a gold medal, but it has allowed us to succeed in representing our country to the best of our ability; succeed in being one of the few people in the world physically talented enough to perform on an international stage; and succeed in being a better team in comparison to the start of our campaign.

Although it would be nice to have a gold medal to show for our efforts, the valuable life lesson of learning to be proud of your achievements without material validation is currently being learnt. Being elite athletes we often feel validated and gain self-esteem through public recognition, medals and winning. With this in mind it’s no wonder that we see the physical and mental decline of retired athletes when the medals and public recognition dry up. Without getting too philosophical, owning a gold medal will not make me a better person, nor will it make me happy about myself long-term. Learning to recognise and be proud of small accomplishments (without recognition) is an acquired skill far more valuable and essential for being happy with oneself in the future.

So congratulations to the medal winners but equally congratulations to my team mates and the other Australian athletes who achieved their personal best or simply gave it their all. Don’t let the medal tally fool you. We have given our best, we have represented our country to the upmost of our ability, we have succeeded.

Although our round games are over we still have the 5th/6th playoff vs China on the 10th of August. Please continue your support as a win will help the team progress up the FIH ladder.

This post originally published on ashleighnelson.org