Sharon Buchanan

Sharon Lee Buchanan OAM (born 12 March 1963 in Western Australia) is a retired field hockey forward, who competed in three Summer Olympics for her native country, starting in 1984.

Buchanan earned selections in four Olympic hockey squads and was the team captain from 1989 to 1992, at a time when Australia was considered the best in the world. She originally played inside forward, but later chose the center-half role. When she was just twelve years old she was nominated to the Western Australian under-16 squad and one year later she was picked for the Australian under-16 squad.

Buchanan graduated through the under-19 and senior teams and earned a place in the national team bound for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Unfortunately a boycott was imposed, following the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

When, four years later, Buchanan was 21 years old she flew with the Los Angeles Olympic team, but it wasn't until 1988 that the Australian Team won gold at the Seoul Olympics. The Australians ran second in the 1989 Champions Trophy in Berlin with Buchanan as captain and second at the 1990 Women's Hockey World Cup in Sydney, and then returned to Berlin to win the 1991 Champions Trophy. Buchanan was named "Player of the Tournament" and also won her second nomination in a World Team.