Anita McLaren (née Punt; born 2 October 1987) is a New Zealand

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

player. She competed for the

New Zealand women's national field hockey team The New Zealand women's national field hockey team is also known as the Black Sticks Women. The team's best performances include a gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, a third placing at the 201 ...

(the ''Black Sticks Women'') from 2009 to 2018, including for the team at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

and the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Career

Born in Nelson to Nicolaas and Adele McLaren, Anita Punt is of Dutch descent through her father and holds dual New Zealand and Dutch citizenship. She attended

Waimea College Waimea College is a co-educational secondary school in Richmond, Tasman District, New Zealand. With a growing roll of 1500+ students from year groups 9–13, Waimea College is equipped with a park-like campus and numerous facilities. History Wa ...

in nearby

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, before moving to

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

at age 18 to focus on her hockey with the Capital National Hockey League team. McLaren was first selected for the Black Sticks Women in June 2009, along with ten other players as the Black Sticks squad was overhauled following its last place finish at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

. She played her first match for New Zealand on 19 June 2009 against

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in hometown Nelson. She helped New Zealand win a bronze medal at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

, scoring the first goal in the bronze medal match. McLaren has a reputation for her speed, being touted as one of the fastest female hockey players in the world with a time over ten metres ranking her within the top eight of the Black Sticks Men's squad. In February 2013, McLaren was entered as a wildcard entry into the annual International Track Meet in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, in which she won the 100 metres in 12.61 seconds (on a grass track and with a strong 2.9 m/s headwind), beating many seasoned New Zealand track athletes. She later won the 100 metres and 200 metres at the Porritt Classic in Hamilton, before competing in the New Zealand Track and Field Championships in March 2013 in Auckland. However, McLaren was off pace and came fifth in the 100 metres, with a time of 12.23 seconds (wind +0.1 m/s). , McLaren resided on the North Shore of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. She is a retail assistant by trade, but is currently studying veterinary nursing. She married decathlete

Scott McLaren Scott McLaren (born 11 April 1968) is a former Australian rules football field umpire in the Australian Football League (AFL). He umpired 328 career games in the AFL. McLaren was awarded the All-Australian Umpire award in 2001, as well as hi ...

in March 2016. McLaren announced her retirement from international hockey in October 2018. She subsequently headed the sport department at

King's College King's College or The King's College refers to two higher education institutions in the United Kingdom: *King's College, Cambridge, a constituent of the University of Cambridge *King's College London, a constituent of the University of London It ca ...

in Auckland.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McLaren, Anita 1987 births Living people New Zealand female field hockey players New Zealand people of Dutch descent Sportspeople from Nelson, New Zealand People educated at Waimea College Olympic field hockey players for New Zealand Field hockey players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Field hockey players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand Field hockey players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games medallists in field hockey Field hockey players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Female field hockey midfielders 20th-century New Zealand women 21st-century New Zealand women Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games