Argentina aims for gold in Women's Hockey at Paris 2024 Olympics
The Argentina women's hockey team, known as Las Leonas (The Lionesses), has its sights firmly set on capturing gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Arriving in Paris as one of the most formidable teams over the last 25 years, they are determined to complete their unfinished business.
Despite their impressive track record, Las Leonas missed out on the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where they lost in the final against the Netherlands. Their current head coach, Fernando Ferrara, a former men's hockey player who competed in three Olympic tournaments for Argentina, brings a wealth of experience to the team.
"A very great mystique was created, and it is being transferred from generation to generation, made up of values of sacrifice, effort, putting the team first, and the shirt first. It was what made the Lionesses have their own name today, which also transcends the results," Ferrara is quoted by AFP.
Team captain Rocio Sanchez Moccia also expressed the determination and mindset that the team is taking into this year’s event, saying “There’s a lot of training, nothing is free, and nobody gives us anything, it is pure effort and it really means putting the shirt before everything.”
“It's a lot of love for the shirt, so to fulfil it, which would make the girls give me the best Olympic game of my life and that would be, obviously, the gold medal,” she added.
Since the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where they became the first women's team in any sport to win an Olympic medal for Argentina, Las Leonas has won five consecutive medals. However, a gold medal has eluded them, with the team securing three silver medals and two bronze medals over the last 24 years.
With their sights set on gold this time, Las Leonas are more determined than ever to achieve the ultimate success in Paris 2024.
