How retired Australian striker earned Olympic comeback

24/07/2024

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Michelle Heyman's return is being called one of Australian sport's greatest comebacks

Tiffanie Turnbull

BBC News, Sydney

"I had to just pretend that I wanted to retire but it was mainly because I got fired," she told Code Sports.

Heyman was so shattered she also exited the A-League and it seemed like the final pages of her storied career had been written.

'One of Australian sport’s greatest comeback stories'

But just 18 months later, a recharged Heyman returned to the A-League in a blaze of glory, netting a hat-trick in her first match back for Canberra United.

"I missed being part of something bigger than myself," she said at the time.

Since then, she has overtaken Kerr as the leading ALW goal scorer and become the first to earn a third Golden Boot award. These achievements, combined with her two Julie Dolan medals - the competition’s highest honour - arguably make her the league’s most decorated player.

So when Olympic selection came around, Heyman was ready and waiting, at the top of her game.

"She's in tremendous form, she's scoring for fun," head coach Tony Gustavsson said in February when recalling her to the squad.

The announcement quickly made waves around the country. "Just quietly, this might be one of Australian sport’s greatest comeback stories in recent memory," wrote Sydney Morning Herald football journalist Vince Rugari.

"Was it something that I thought would ever happen again? Probably not," Heyman says with a smile.

"I still remember the day - just like, tears. And I don't cry!”

Adding to the emotion is the fact the country she’s playing for barely resembles the one she competed for just five years ago.

The Matildas are the hottest sporting team in Australia, more well liked and well known than even the Australian men’s cricket team, experts say.

Players are now household names, every match on home soil since the start of the World Cup has sold out and they hold the record for the most watched television event in Australian history.