Masked Up on the Ice: Why the Hockey Player?
Tania Dickinson
2025-06-07 22:29:54
Count answers: 3
Jip Janssen got in touch to say congratulations on Olympic selection as we both wear masks when we play now. We spoke after his incident [Jip received a ball to his eye in April and feared he may go blind]. It is one of those things that through adversity it brings people together and it’s great to see him ripping the goals in.
Tyrell Bayer
2025-06-03 12:36:17
Count answers: 5
The masks are made from materials like polycarbonate and protect athletes who have sustained facial injuries, ensuring they can play on without risking further damage. Some are 3D printed to exactly fit a scan of the contours of each athlete’s face. Gvardiol decided to wear the mask to protect himself from further damage. Son now sports a black carbon fibre mask, which he described as “more comfortable than I thought. It’s made of good material. It’s light, hard when worn on the face, and it’s a good material that can protect against impact. I was surprised that it was considerably lighter than I thought.”
Kendra Lueilwitz
2025-05-28 03:18:41
Count answers: 4
It was about getting used to it and the depth perception and adapting from there. The mask takes some getting used to. It’s attached to your face and it gets very warm in the heat. But I don’t even notice it any more.
Linda Stiedemann
2025-05-23 07:40:57
Count answers: 4
Ward has now taken the field at the Tokyo Olympics wearing a face mask to protect his right eye, and he described it as “the most precious thing in the world”. The mask wraps around both his eye sockets and nose, covering the upper portion of his face besides his eyes. This allows for Ward to feel protected on the field without concerns of further harming his injured eye. It’s attached to your face and it gets very warm in the heat.
It has obviously been a massive couple of years and I can’t explain how happy I am to have taken on the challenge and to have come out of the other side.
Garry Wilkinson
2025-05-12 10:15:40
Count answers: 3
He plays in a mask because of the injury he sustained at a penalty corner against Malaysia six years ago, which shattered his eye socket. Attacker Sam Ward has worn a protective face mask since a ball shattered his eye socket from a penalty corner against Malaysia six years ago and he helped to lead Team GB's late recovery.
Ubaldo Mueller
2025-05-03 10:02:22
Count answers: 5
He has done so ever since suffering an utterly horrific accident during qualifying for the Tokyo Games, when he was struck in the head by a teammate’s shot on goal during GB’s match with Malaysia on 3 November 2019. Hockey balls can travel as fast as 100 miles per hour and Ward was caught in the side of the head just above his left eye by the wayward snapshot, the resulting injury leaving him with seven or eight fractures to his face and a torn retina, resulting in the permanent loss of central vision from his left eye.
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