The History and Success of Argentina Women’s Field Hockey Team
Las Leonas (the lions) is the well-deserved name of the Argentina field hockey team for women. They are among the best teams in the world and have won major championships like the Olympics and the World Cup.
Read this blog post to discover the intriguing story and achievements of Argentina’s women’s field hockey team!
Origins of Argentina Field Hockey
Argentineans pride themselves on their country’s successful field hockey women’s team. There’s a long history related to the origins of the sport and its arrival in America. While field hockey is popular in South America, its origins date back to the 19th century in the British Isles.
Women’s particular interest in the sport is tied to the person responsible for importing it to the United States. A woman named Constance M.K Applebee arrived in the US in 1901, starting off the story of field hockey in America.
Since then, the sport slowly made its way into schools, colleges, and other clubs. Female athletes were highly interested in it.
Argentina Field Hockey Team for Women
As expected with a successful team like Argentina’s, field hockey is the most popular female sport in the country. Despite some difficulties, they have made efforts to introduce it into the Argentinean national curriculum. The government wants schools to play it more often, but they claim the equipment is expensive.
See also: 9 Quirky Facts About Pato: Argentina’s National Sport
Las Leonas is an accurate name for Argentina’s field hockey team—a feisty group of women who made their way into sports history with energized matches against competitive teams. Check out these gripping facts about the team’s history and achievements!
History
Las Leonas have enjoyed decades of success. Their earliest win happened in the 1987 Pan American Games, in Indianapolis, U.S.
However, their current recognition they now have begun growing during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. The team defeated the Netherlands 3-1.
Days later, they earned a silver medal after defeating China and New Zealand. Luciana Aymar powerfully scored winning goals. Although the Australian team earned the gold medal, Las Leonas made a name for themselves in these Olympics.
The current National Secretary of Sports of Argentina, Inés Arrondo, designed the team’s logo.
Fun fact: The junior female field hockey team is called Las Leoncitas (the little lions).
Achievements
It’s amazing how hard these women have fought for their prestigious spots in international rankings.! No wonder Argentineans think of them as national heroes.
After The Netherlands and Australia, Argentina Women’s Field Hockey team held third place in the FIH ranking system.
World Cup
Since 1974, Las Leonas have been an outstanding team during field hockey world cups. That year, they earned their first silver medal. Two years later, they earned another, paving the way to earning seven medals in this competition.
Even in the years where they didn’t get a chance to earn a medal, they celebrated being among the top 10 teams. They became World Champions twice—in 2002 and 2010—against the Netherlands.
Olympic Games
Argentina’s fearless female field hockey team has accumulated four Olympic medals:
- 2 silver medals (2000, 2012)
- 2 bronze medals (2004, 2008)
Moreover, they have also landed in the top 10 places in several Olympics.
Trophy of Champions
This triumphant Argentina field hockey team has won no less than 10 medals over the years in this competition, eight of which have been gold.
Their most recent win was in 2016, where they obtained their eighth gold medal.
Pan American Games
The extraordinary Leonas have 6 gold medals and 2 silver ones in their history in the Pan American Games.
Pan American Cup
Five gold medals in the Argentina field hockey team’s outstanding achievement in the history of this competition.
Valuable Players
While winning is a team achievement, key players have had notable performances over the years. Here are 3 incredible Argentina field hockey athletes who have led their team to success.
1. Noel Barrionuevo
As the current captain of Argentina’s field hockey team, Noel Barrionuevo has helped her team earn medals in Olympic competitions, including:
- Bronze in Beijing 2008
- Silver London 2012
More recently, she scored two goals in the semi-finals in Tokyo 2020. She claims she felt like she had achieved something great by getting to the Olympic finals
2. Luciana Aymar
Luciana Aymar’s successful Argentina field hockey career began when she was 8 years old, earning 3rd place in the Junior World Championship. What’s more, she achieved 4th place in the Major League World Cup in 1998.
She has a unique record in history, as she has earned the title of Best Player in the World 8 times (2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2013). Unparalleled player Luciana Aymar retired in 2014.
3. Agustina Gorzelany
With a place among the top 6 players in the world, Agustina Gorzelany is a top goal scorer on the team. The International Hockey Federation nominated her among the best players of the season after she won a silver medal with the team in Tokyo, 2020.
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