CommBank Matildas forward Mary Fowler reflected on being selected for her second Olympic Games after the 18-player squad was announced for Paris 2024™.
She said that she still felt that same buzz being told she was selected for Paris as she did for Tokyo 2020™.
“It’s still the same feeling of excitement, honour, and gratitude to have this opportunity to go again,” she explained.
After the ‘Til It’s Done Farewell Series, Head Coach Tony Gustavsson admitted that exactly where to put the supremely talented forward on the field was not a conundrum he had fully resolved. Fowler was asked by media about where she felt most confident on the pitch.
“It depends, it varies game per game,” she answered. “I could say left wing for one game and the next game not touch the ball, so, it depends.”
“At the end of the day, it’s a team sport and I’ll go wherever the coach puts me, and try to do my best in those positions. Some games that means I’ll be involved a lot, other games maybe not, but that’s just the way the game flows sometimes.”
Fowler explained that the team were driven by previous results to go further in Paris than they have ever done before.
“There’s a lot of emotion going into this tournament,” she outlined. “The frustration and disappointment from not coming away with anything for the past few tournaments is definitely driving us to want to do better.
“The emotional side will help us as well, doing it for the players and the team that might be their last tournament, and it’ll just add being a special time.”
She pointed towards a strong mindset as key to walking away with a medal.
“It is hard to go deep into tournaments, and physically it’s tough,” she explained. “Especially with the Olympics, you have such a short turnaround with games. This time around, the disappointment of not getting the last couple of tournaments will really fuel us.”
“Physically and mentally, we can actually do it… the belief has never faltered.”
The 21-year-old Manchester City player will now have a short break before commencing pre-camp later this month. While it has been a huge 12 months on and off the field off the back of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™, the focus for Fowler remains on the pitch.
“It’s been an exciting year for me, it’s been a busy year,” she reflected.
“I think I always just bring it back to the football. I wouldn’t have had these opportunities if it wasn’t for the football. I always remind myself that football is what comes first when I’m thinking about everything else.”