Jacob Draper

Jacob Benjamin Draper (born 24 July 1998) is a Welsh field hockey player who plays as a defender for Dutch Hoofdklasse club Pinoké and the Wales and Great Britain national teams.[2] He competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Biography

Draper was born in Cwmbran, Wales, and started his hockey career with Gwent HC. He then played for Preston, followed by Cardiff & Met. While at Preston, Draper made his senior debut, aged 18, for Wales on 28 August 2016, in a 5–1 win over Austria in Vienna, Austria. He played for Wales at Hockey at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast[3][4] and 2019 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship, where they finished 6th. [5]

Draper left Cardiff & Met to join Hampstead & Westminster for the 2019/20 season.[6]

Draper was selected to represent Great Britain squad for the delayed 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo[7] and was selected to represent Wales at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.[8]

He joined Belgian club Beerschot for the 2021–22 season[9] before joining Hampstead & Westminster in the Men's England Hockey League Premier Division for the 2022–23 season.

Draper joined Pinoké in the Netherlands and was subsequently selected to represent Great Britain at the 2024 Summer Olympics.[10] The team went out in the quarter-finals after losing a penalty shootout to India.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Heren 1 versterkt zich met GB International Jacob Draper en Chiel van Oostendorp vanuit de jeugd" [Men 1 strengthened with GB International Jacob Draper and Chiel van Oostendorp from the youth]. pinoke.nl (in Dutch).
  2. ^ "Draper in line to make GB debut, Sanford returns from injury". Great Britain Hockey. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "Athlete Profile: Jacob Draper". Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation. 2018. Archived from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  4. ^ "Commonwealth Games: Wales name Gold Coast Games hockey teams". BBC Sport. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  5. ^ "Senior Men's Programme". hockeywales.org.uk. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Hockey transfers 2019/20: Latests ins and outs in English Premier Divisions". The Hockey Paper. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  7. ^ "Team GB hockey: 21 players to make Olympic debuts as men's and women's squads are named". Sky Sports. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  8. ^ "Hockey Commonwealth Games 2022: Wales select 'incredibly competitive' squads". The Hockey Paper. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  9. ^ "Transferts : deux Britanniques au Beerschot" [Transfers: two Britons at Beerschot]. okey.lalibre.be (in French). 5 March 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  10. ^ "GB hockey select Roper for fourth Olympic Games". bbc.com. BBC. 18 June 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  11. ^ "GB wait for men's hockey medal goes on after shootout heartbreak". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 August 2024.