Hook Hockey

Bray’s Kavanagh toasts bittersweet Olympic bronze

A small area of Bray was celebrating the village’s second Olympic medal in three days on Saturday as Fergus Kavanagh helped Australia to men’s hockey bronze with a 3-1 win over Great Britain.

Kavanagh said afterwards up to 15 family members had made the trip over the Irish Sea from the seaside village – also home to Katie Taylor – to watch the third place playoff. It was a “bittersweet” moment, though, for the Perth-based defender as his side finished third for the second successive Games despite being ranked as world number ones.
They fell at the semi-final stage to eventual champions Germany 4-2.

“The semi-final was obviously gutting. In the second half,” he said. “But we’re very proud we got ourselves up for this bronze medal game. To get a medal at an Olympics is a great achievement.

“I was coming back to hopefully go better. First time, it was just great to be there at my first Olympics. It’s bittersweet.”

Kavanagh and his family moved to west Australia in the late 1980s having spent the first four years of his life in Bray where a number of family members also played hockey in the Loreto School.

For former Annadale man Iain Lewers – who previously played for Ireland over 80 times – Australia’s victory inflicted a tough loss on Great Britain who were condemned to fourth.

“It’s been a bloody rollercoaster. It started off well and we’ve had a lot of dips in the rollercoaster and some highs as well.

“It’s not just losing a hockey match; it’s more than that. It’s the culmination of three or four years work, more for some others. To be level going into the closing quarter and it creeping away from you, it’s not easy to take.”

** The Hook’s final Olympic blog will appear in due course after a short bit of downtime! Photo courtesy of Stanislas Brochier