Hockey: Kate Mahon retires from internationals

Black Sticks defender Kate Mahon has decided to hang up the stick and retire after seven years of international hockey. Photo / Sarah Ivey.

Black Sticks defender Kate Mahon has decided to hang up the stick and retire after seven years of international hockey.

She will continue playing national league hockey for her Midlands team as well as staying involved in club hockey in the Waikato region.

Mahon debuted for the Black Sticks women in 2005, and said her career highlight was scoring two penalty strokes to secure a win over Australia and earn the team a spot at the 2010 World Cup.

Mahon was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2004, just a year before her Black Sticks debut, and it is primarily for this reason that she has decided to retire.

"The last 12 months have been pretty tough with a series of niggles," she said. "My body has just been struggling with the increased level of training. I feel like I have run out of opportunities to prove myself and I have lost some of that passion I once had."

Mahon has had to undergo five rounds of treatment during her time in the team, providing an on-going interruption to her training and her playing.

"I'm known as the 'hockey player' at the hospital. I have been able to manage it reasonably well, but this year I have been feeling increasingly lethargic and I know that the time is right - it is a real relief to have finally made the decision."

Coach Mark Hager said Mahon, who made 72 appearances for the Black Sticks, would be sorely missed.

"Kate has been an integral part of the team over the last seven years and has helped to create a great team culture," he said. "She excels in assisting the young ones and helping them to improve as both athletes and as people. "