(22 July 1996; Day 03)
That loud explosion you heard coming from Clark Atlanta University on Monday morning wasn't anything to be worried about ... unless you're scheduled to play the Australian women's hockey team.
With enough offensive firepower to fuel a 2-0 record and 11-1 goal count through the first three days of competition at the 1996 Olympic Games, Australia certainly appears worthy of the high praise it received coming into the tournament.
On Monday, Argentina got a taste of the Australian firepower in a 7-1 loss. On Saturday, Spain was the victim in a 4-0 defeat.
"I'm having a good time at the Olympics, but it's easy to have fun when you know there are no weak links on your team," said forward Katrina POWELL. "We have 16 quality players on our team that we can rotate in and out, which makes it tough for other teams to mark just one or two of our players."
Five different players scored the seven goals against Argentina. Leading the way was Alyson ANNAN, who recorded a hat trick and now has four goals in two games.
"It's always nice to score goals, but I have to keep things in perspective," ANNAN explained. "There were four other goals scored today by four other people. Not one of our strokers plays the same way. Everything that each of us does is different, which makes it hard for the other team to know what to expect."
When asked to describe the Australian offense, ANNAN smiled, "We're explosive and certainly creative."
But, with as much attention as the Aussie offense is drawing from opponents and spectators, Australian coach Ric CHARLESWORTH believes his defense is just as vital.
"The two results of our games have been built on our defense playing well also," CHARLESWORTH said. "We try to defend by constantly attacking, but having a solid defense is very important."
The Australians' constant attack has worn down their two foes thus far in the tournament. When the heat, humidity and running begin affecting their opponents, the Aussies kick their attack into high gear.
"We've prepared to run for 70 minutes, and there is an expectation in this tournament that Australia will keep running," CHARLESWORTH said. "The coaching part of this tournament occurred when we were preparing to come to Atlanta. Now the players are making things happen."
And the ladies from Down Under are making things happen in a big, explosive way in Atlanta.
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Kevin Henry.
Select another day:
Pre | July | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | August | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Post |
| More tickets were sold to the competitions of the 1996 Games than to any other Olympic Games or sports event in history. The 8.6 million ticket sales figures topped sales to the Los Angeles and Barcelona Games combined. |