Danni Roche


Danielle "Danni" Roche, OAM is a former field hockey player, who was a member of the Australian Women’s Hockey Team, best known as the Hockeyroos, that won the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

Personal

Roche was born in Melbourne on 25 May 1970. Roche is the daughter of Ken Roche, who as a hurdler at the 1964 Summer Olympics and won two Commonwealth Games gold medals. She had a seven-year relationship with Australian model and television personality Deborah Hutton until their break up in December 2007. Roche is expecting her first child in June 2017 with partner Amy Merriman.

Hockey career

Roche made her debut as a 19 year old for the Australian team in 1989 in the Australia vs New Zeaalnd series. She was a member of the Australian Women’s Hockey Team that won the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. She was an Australian Institute of Sport hockey scholarship holder and played for MCC Hockey Club.

Business career

Roche has held finance and commercial positions with Telstra, has been a Director at UBS, a partner at Evans and Partners. Roche is a Director of a privately owned fraud and risk management business.

Sports administration

Roche was a Hockey Australia Director for seven years until she was appointed to the St Kilda Football Club Board in 2012. She was appointed to the Australian Sports Commission Board on 4 May 2016. Roche is a Trust Member of Victorian State Sports Centres.
In March 2017, Roche announced that she was standing for the President of the Australian Olympic Committee. It was first time that John Coates has been challenged for the Presidency, a position held since 1990.