Jennifer Enid McDonald (née Bint; born 18 July 1949 in Whangārei) is a retired field hockey player from New Zealand, who captained the national team that finished sixth at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.[1]

Born Jennifer Enid Bint, McDonald grew up in the farming locality of Maungakaramea, in Northland. She studied teaching in Auckland, then taught at the primary school in Outram, near Dunedin, where she met her future husband, Rex McDonald.[2]

McDonald played 192 matches for the national hockey team from 1971 to 1985, including 94 tests, and captained the team from 1980 to 1985. She was the only New Zealander selected in a World XI that played the world champion Netherlands in a one-off encounter in Scotland in 1980.[3] She retired from hockey at 53 after breaking her wrist. Later, she became President of the Otago Hockey Association, then chair of Southern Regional Hockey.[2]

In 1996, McDonald was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame.[4] The annual national schoolgirls' hockey tournament is played for the Jenny McDonald Cup. She was awarded life membership of the New Zealand Hockey Federation in 2002.[3]

McDonald retired from teaching in 2014 after being principal of Elmgrove School in Mosgiel, Otago, for 10 years.[2]

References

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jennifer McDonald". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Montague, Paul. "Where is she now? Jenny McDonald". Newsroom.co.nz. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b Meikle, Hayden. "Greatest moments in Otago sport - Number 31". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Jenny McDonald". New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 10 April 2021.

External links


New Zealand squad – 1984 Summer Olympics – 6th place
1984 New Zealand Olympic team
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