ACOG - News - IBM

(25 July 1996; Day 06)

Giles Makes Big Contribution for British Hockey Squad Coming Off Bench

On paper, Great Britain's Calum GILES is listed as a reserve player. But when the British men's hockey team has an opportunity for a penalty corner, GILES becomes the star.

The 23-year-old GILES is making a big name for himself at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. On Sunday, he scored twice on penalty corner shots (one in each half) to hand the British a 2-2 tie with Korea. On Tuesday, his penalty corner blast in the 65th minute gave Great Britain a 2-2 tie with the Netherlands. Two days later, his penalty corner goal put Great Britain ahead 2-1, a lead it would eventually relinquish on its way to yet another 2-2 deadlock with Malaysia.

"There are undoubtedly teams in this tournament who have good short strikers. We think we have the best (in GILES)," said British manager David WHITTLE.

Despite playing a spot role, GILES leads his team in scoring in the Olympic Games, accounting for four of the six goals scored by Great Britain in three matches.

Much like a relief pitcher in baseball, GILES knows that while he may not be playing every minute of every game, his specialty is critical to the success of his team.

"I'm very happy with my role on the team," GILES said. "I know what I do is important, so I'm happy."

What's the secret to his success?

"You rely on power, deception, and the way you place the ball in the goal," GILES explained. "If I had just one tactic, I wouldn't be able to deceive the goalkeeper."

While WHITTLE wishes his team, which has medaled in each of the last three Olympic Games, had three wins rather than three ties, he's certainly not complaining about his team's standing through the first three games of Pool B action.

"We were looking for two points after the first two games, so from that point of view it's satisfactory and we're on target," WHITTLE said. "This is a big tournament and you build yourself into a game and we're building ourselves into a tournament."

The British next meet South Africa in pool play on Saturday, and it's probably a safe bet that the South Africans will be keeping an eye on GILES any time the British line up for a penalty corner shot. After all, Great Britain's secret weapon is not so secret any more.

This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Kevin Henry.


Return to Olympic News Menu

Select another day:
Pre July 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 August 1 2 3 4 Post


Olympic Factoid
Closing Ceremony of the 1996 Games involved a crew of 2,100 who worked with more than 3,500 performers as well as thousands of athletes who celebrated on the field of Olympic Stadium.