Gus Nelson


Gus Nelson is a field hockey player from New Zealand.

Life

Gus Nelson grew up in the Āria community in rural Waikato, New Zealand.

Career

Domestic league

In domestic competitions, Nelson plays within New Zealand. He most recently competed with the Southern Alpiners in the Premier Hockey League and Junior Hockey League, as well as Canterbury in the Ford National Hockey Championship.

Under–21

Nelson is currently the captain of the New Zealand men's national under-21 [field hockey team|New Zealand U–21] squad.
He represented the team for the first time at the 2023 [Sultan of Johor Cup] in Johor Bahru, and followed this up with an appearance at the 2023 Men's FIH Hockey [Junior World Cup|FIH Junior World Cup] in Kuala Lumpur.
Since his junior debut, he has also appeared at the 2024 [Sultan of Johor Cup|2024] and 2025 editions of the Sultan of Johor Cup, as well as the 2025 Men's Junior [Oceania Cup|2025 Junior Oceania Cup] in Auckland, where he won a silver medal. He was most recently named in the squad for his second FIH Junior World Cup, to be held in Chennai and Madurai.

Black Sticks

Nelson made his senior international debut for the Black Sticks in 2025. He earned his first senior cap during a match against Japan during the 2024–25 FIH Nations Cup in Kuala Lumpur. He went on to win his first gold medal with the national team at the tournament. He followed this up with appearances at the 2025 Oceania Cup in Darwin. At the tournament, he won a silver medal.