McCaw chases elusive medal

When Gemma McCaw made her debut for the Black Sticks as a 17-year-old in 2008, she wouldn’t have imagined ending up where she has in 2020.

For a while there, it looked like the Rio Olympics in 2016 would be her last outing in a black singlet – one that ended with a loss in the bronze medal match, just like in London in 2012.

But after having a daughter with husband Richie at the end of 2018, she found herself drawn back to the sport she loved – first at club level in Christchurch, then with Midlands in the National Hockey League, and now with the Black Sticks.

McCaw has returned alongside fellow veteran and mum Kayla Whitelock, who also stepped aside after Rio. The pair resume their international careers in Auckland today when the second edition of the FIH Pro League begins.

Reflecting on Rio, McCaw said the pain of losing to Germany and missing out on a bronze medal was ‘‘fresh in the mind, even four years later’’.

‘‘I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t bitterly disappointed. We put so much into that campaign and to fall short was devastating.

‘‘Afterwards I took some time [for myself] and it still didn’t

Gemma McCaw on the Black Sticks’ 2016 Rio Olympics campaign make it any easier looking back at the result. You can go on holiday, but when you come home, it still sits with you.’’

McCaw played for Midlands in the NHL in 2017, but in October that year, she brought an end to her international career, having not played for the Black Sticks during the past 12 months.

Then came the arrival of daughter Charlotte, in December 2018, and a chance encounter with an inspirational quote early last year. ‘‘That quote just really resonated,’’ McCaw said.

‘‘It’s not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours.

‘‘I saw that and I felt that sense of unfinished business, deep down, just burning away.’’

McCaw had played a game of club hockey when Charlotte was four months old, where she ‘‘felt that sense of excitement again’’.

The next step was turning out for Midlands in the NHL in her hometown of Tauranga last September, where she met with Black Sticks coach Graham Shaw.

‘‘[He] emailed me to have a coffee during the NHL, so I thought, ‘well, if he’s having a coffee with me, then he might be thinking that way’.

‘‘He had the conversation with me then and that’s when I knew I had an opportunity, if I continued to perform in the NHL.

‘‘After that he rang me up and offered me a place in the squad.’’

McCaw was one of 25 players named in the national women’s squad for 2020 – a group that will have to be whittled down to 16 in time for the Tokyo Olympics, which start at the end of July.

Charlotte will at for this weekend’s games against Belgium in Auckland, her presence helping to spur mum on as she adds to her 246 caps and extend an international career that began more than a decade ago.

Looking back at how she felt back then, McCaw said: ‘‘I just wanted to enjoy every game that I did get’’.

‘‘I was lucky enough to be in the team for a long time and each time the opportunity came around, I did everything I could to take that chance. I probably didn’t think as a 17-year-old when I first debuted that I’d be here in 2020 with a baby, lining up a fourth Olympics.’’