Elspeth Denning (née Swain, also known as Elspeth Denning-Clement and Elspeth Clement-Denning) is a former Western Australian field hockey

Field hockey

Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...

 player. She was born in Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

 on 19 June 1956 and moved with her family to South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 when she was six. She played representative hockey for Western Province

Western Cape

The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...

 before moving to Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

 in 1975.

As a member of the Hockeyroos

Hockeyroos

The Australia women's national field hockey team are Australia's national women's hockey team.Having played their first game in 1914,they are one of Australia’s most successful sporting teams, boasting three Olympic Gold...

, she represented Australian in 101 matches between 1978 and 1988. She was selected for Olympic squads in 1980 (Moscow)

1980 Summer Olympics

The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...

, 1984 (Los Angeles)

1984 Summer Olympics

The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...

 and 1988 (Seoul)

1988 Summer Olympics

The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...

. In 1988 she was vice-captain in Australia's gold medal win, and was rated as the outstanding player of the meet.

In domestic hockey, Denning represented Western Australia from 1976 to 1988.

Awards

In 1989 she was awarded the Order of Australia

Order of Australia

The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...

 medal and was voted Western Australian Sports Star of the Year

Western Australian Sports Star of the Year

The Western Australian Sports Star of the Year, currently known as The West Australian ANZ Sports Star of the Year, is an annual award for Western Australian sportspeople. It has been running since 1956.-List of winners by year:...

.

In 1996 she was inducted into the Western Australian Hall of Champions

Western Australian Hall of Champions

In 1983, the Sportswriters' Association of Western Australia proposed a Western Australian Hall of Champions to honour past athletes from the state who had made a significant impact in their sport...

.
in 2005 she was inducted into the Hockey WA

Hockey WA

Hockey WA is the organisation responsible for the sport of Field Hockey in the state of Western Australia, Australia. Hockey WA is represented in the Australian Hockey League competition by the SmokeFree WA Thundersticks and the SmokeFree WA Diamonds...

Hall of Champions