Determined to fight back from Olympics heartache

Hockey star Adam Dixon has told of his massive disappointment at not being selected for the team GB Olympic squad.

But in an interview with the Advertiser, the Newark-based player said he would learn from the experience and was already looking to the next games in Rio in 2016.

Dixon, 25, a former Newark player, was one of the most surprising exclusions from the 16-man squad, and said it was the biggest sporting disappointment of his career.

He said: “I’m absolutely devastated.

“The Olympics is something I have been working towards for the last ten years, and in a way maybe even my whole hockey career.

“Not a day goes by without me thinking about it. It was just such a massive disappointment.

“It was also a big shock since I’d played in all the major tournaments leading up to the Olympics.”

Dixon was told he hadn’t made the squad in a telephone call from head coach Jason Lee.

“Jason rang me and said: ‘Sorry, I’ve got bad news, do you want to talk about it?’ I didn’t want to, there and then so I rang back a few days later,” Dixon said.

“That’s when I found out it was so close between me and another player.

“The coaches who did the research said it was so close. They looked at videos and statistics, but the decision has been taken mostly on the manager’s gut feeling.

“But that’s how sport is sometimes, and I really respect the manager.”

Dixon was told a week before the squad was officially announced and was only allowed to tell close family and friends, having to maintain a neutral front to the public.

He said: “It was tricky because you have to be confidential so I told the people closest to me, but couldn’t give it away to other people who were asking about it.”

While the women’s hockey squad was announced in May, Dixon said it was harder to get over the disappointment so soon before the Olympics started.

“The women’s GB side have known for months who is going, but we’re not told until July.

“Because it’s so massive, it would have been better to have more time between the announcement and the event.”

Dixon had increased his training to around 35 hours a week over the last two years in the build-up to the Olympics, and said his hunger for selection meant making a lot of sacrifices in other areas of life.

“I have put in such a lot of work as well over the last four years. I have developed a real athlete’s lifestyle, which has engrossed me,” Dixon said.

“I live with friends and they could all go for a beer whenever they wanted, but I had to stay in and watch television.

“I was really hungry for the Olympics and felt in the best shape of my life, but that’s sport.”

Dixon now intends to learn from the pain of missing out, and is already looking to the 2016 games.

He said: “Some of the greatest athletes have missed stuff before. I have got to look at it now is to learn from this.

“In 2016, I will be at an age where I am hopefully peaking, and since I was so close to making this year’s squad, I think it’s realistic to aim for the 2016 side."