Anna Flanagan (born 8 January 1992) is an Australian
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 who plays as a defender for the
Canberra Labor Club Strikers
The Canberra Labor Club Strikers are a nationally competing women's field hockey team based in Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until ...
. She is nicknamed ''Flanno''.
A full international with over 100 caps since 2010 for the Australian national team, she has represented the nation at one
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
and in one
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
tournaments.
Career
Flanagan is a defender, who specialises in taking corner penalties. In 2000, after being a multi-sport athlete, she made a commitment to playing field hockey.
Flanagan made her national team debut in March 2010 in a friendly against
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
as an 18-year-old, after having been first called up to the team when she was 17 years old. Her selection to the squad came during a period when the team was injecting a lot of youth players following the
2008 Summer 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 Na ...
. Later in 2010, she would represent Australia as a member of the gold medal-winning team at the Commonwealth Games. As a member of the 2012 Australian team at 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 ...
, she had a fifth-place finish. Going into the Games, she had over 50 caps for the national team.
Flanagan was named in 2013 the World Young Player of the Year in field hockey. She took part in the 2012–13 Women's FIH Hockey World League, which took place in Tucumán,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. Her team reached the second place and she scored the only Australian goal in the final game.
Personal life
Flanagan was born on 8 January 1992. Her father is Fred Flanagan, a PE teacher in Canberra. She grew up in
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
where she played
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
,
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
and
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 ...
. She attended Brindabella Christian College before going to
Radford College
Radford College is an independent school, Anglican, coeducational day school, located in Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
Founded in 1984, the college is named after Bishop Lewis Bostock Radford. It has a non-selective enrolm ...
. She earned a degree in sports journalism from the
University of Canberra
The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. UC ...
. Her professional career in journalism started around the time that she was added to the Australian field hockey squad. She moved from Canberra to Perth following the Commonwealth Games in order to further her field hockey career. Following this move, she started doing some professional journalism work for Fox Sports in Perth. In 2011 and 2012, she was enrolled at
Curtin University
Curtin University, formerly known as Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT), is an Australian public research university based in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. It is named after John Curtin, ...
.
In popular culture
Flanagan is currently sponsored by Australian hockey brand Ritual Hockey. She is also sponsored by
Nike
Nike often refers to:
* Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory
* Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment
Nike may also refer to:
People
* Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...
, and in early 2015, Flanagan became the first
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Au ...
hockey player to sign a sponsorship deal with global brand
Red Bull
Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...