Rio 2016 : Blyth hoping for third time lucky
Madonna Blyth and the Hockeyroos have missed out on a medal game by goal difference twice in as many Games but she hopes to end that in Rio.
Hockeyroos captain Madonna Blyth is set to compete in her third Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and is desperate to get her hands on the big prize that has thus far eluded her.
Blyth, who is approaching 350 caps for Australia's women's hockey team, has achieved great success throughout her illustrious career.
Since breaking into the national team in 2004, she has won three Oceania Cups (2005, 2013, 2015), three Commonwealth Games gold medals (2006, 2010, 2014) and has finished second at two World Cups (2006, 2014), while she has also been named in the World All-Stars team on three occasions (2007, 2009, 2010).
However, Blyth is yet to claim an Olympic medal, with Australia having come up narrowly short at the last two Games, only missing out on reaching the medal matches on goal difference in Beijing and London.
After being part of two teams cruelly eliminated at the group stage, Blyth is hopeful things will be different at Rio 2016.
"I think we've done really well the last couple of years," she told Omnisport.
"We’ve played in a lot of finals in big tournaments and I think that makes a big difference.
"Playing in big matches in big tournaments is crucial for us because we're a team that can play really well some days and deviate a little on others.
"We've spent the last two years aiming to play finals and get that experience, and we've done that so that puts us ahead of where we were in London."
The Hockeyroos have now gone three Games without an Olympic medal after winning back-to-back golds at Atlanta 1996 and on home soil at Sydney 2000.
However, Blyth is confident the current 16-player squad, which features 12 debutants, can test the likes of Netherlands - the reigning Olympic champions - and Great Britain.
And they have an additional incentive, with long-serving coach Adam Commens set to leave his post, after six years in charge, at the end of the tournament.
"I think we're all a bit disappointed his journey will finish up," Blyth said of Commens - a bronze medallist himself as a player at Sydney 2000.
"He has done such a good job over the last six years with the way that we've gone, the results we've had and the direction he's taken us in.
"It's been a very positive experience, so this is a good opportunity for him to enjoy his last few months with us and hopefully finish on a high."