FORMER Kookaburras keeper and Olympic medallist Nathan Burgers has been announced as the special guest at this year’s Gloucester Sport Star Awards.
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Burgers retired from the Kookaburras after they won bronze at the 2012 Olympics in London.
Burgers represented the Kookaburras on 94 occasions, winning three consecutive Champions Trophies from 2008 to 2010 and a Commonwealth Games gold medal and World Cup in 2010.
He rated the Olympic bronze medal and World Cup gold as the highlights of his career.
Burgers was born in Ayr, Queensland, and started playing with the North Queensland Barras in the Australian Hockey League in 2000.
At the end of the 2001 season he seriously injured his wrist and there were fears it would prematurely end his career.
But he rebounded to win a scholarship to the AIS in Canberra, where he played for the Canberra Lakers.
He was selected in his first national squad in 2007 at age 27 and was 33 when he was first selected in an Olympic squad.
Burgers was also a member of the 2010 and 2012 Queensland Blades team which won gold in the Australian Hockey League.
Following his retirement from hockey, Burgers took up coaching.
His business Nathan Burgers Coaching aims to give young hockey players the opportunity to meet and learn from elite and international representatives and coaches.
“I had the privilege to play under an array of quality coaches in Australia and the talent pool of coaches in Australia is why we’re always so competitive on the world stage,” Burgers said.
The Gloucester Sport Star Awards will be held at the Soldiers Club on May 3.