Kookaburras captain Aran Zalewski retires a happy man

Kookaburras captain Aran Zalewski says he is retiring in peace despite walking away without an Olympic gold medal.

Zalewski announced his retirement from international hockey on Thursday, but it wasn't an easy decision.

The 33-year-old is a triple Olympian who won silver at the 2021 Tokyo Games.

He also won a World Cup title, two Champions Trophies and three Commonwealth Games gold medals in 268 appearances over 14 years.

Zalewski's final bid for an elusive Olympic gold medal fell short in Paris when the Kookaburras lost 2-0 to the Netherlands in the quarter-finals.

The star midfielder concedes his decision to retire following the 2024 Games didn't come easily as he weighed up his ability to continue while juggling family and his long-term career.

"I really tried to give myself the best possible chance to play as well as I could at the Olympics this year, and I felt like I was in really good shape, I was mentally really prepared to play well," Zalewski said.

"I questioned if I'm continuing to grow as much as I did over those 14 years as a Kookaburra.

"And when I thought about that, I felt like I wasn't serving myself as well as I could, but also not the team and what it needs to keep getting better and growing, and evolving.

"I'm at peace with that decision and knowing that I can leave hockey and leave the Kookaburras a happy man.

"Even though everything in Paris didn't go our way, I still look back on even that experience with some positivity.

"Stepping away from a team that I love and have so many good memories with is the reason it's hard because I look back with so much gratitude, so much fondness and so much positivity."

Zalewski is currently in Germany playing in their domestic league, and he'll complete his commitments there before deciding what's next.

The much-loved Kookaburras skipper was just 19 when he made his international debut - against India in Bunbury, which is just an hour away from his hometown in Western Australia.

"My journey with the Kookaburras is a reflection of the journey I took through my life and growing up in Margaret River as a kid with a dream and I was lucky enough to follow that dream and get to live it for such a long time," he said.

"I loved the simple things. I loved getting a bunch of guys together and trying to accomplish something and having a common goal to do something together that we would remember."