# Caroline Casaretto
**Caroline Casaretto** (born 1978 in Krefeld) is a retired German field hockey player who won the gold medal with the German women's national team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/91811) She also competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where Germany finished seventh.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/91811)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1978 in Krefeld, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/91811) |
| Clubs | Crefelder HTC, HC Wacker München, Münchner SC[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/91811) |
| National team | 83 international matches, 9 goals, 1998–2004[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/91811) |
| Olympic results | 7th at Sydney 2000; gold at Athens 2004[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/91811) |
| Other medals | Silver, 1999 European Championship; bronze, 2003 European Championship; Champions Trophy 2003[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/91811) |
## Playing career
In a 2000 profile in the German Hockey Bund's newsletter she said she started playing hockey at the age of four, wore shirt number 25, and was listed as a left-side or center forward (Linker/Mittelsturm).[2](https://www.bayernhockey.de/VVI-web/DHB/NewsLetter/HD00-5.pdf) The 2000 national squad roster likewise listed her as an attacker (Angriff) for Münchener SC, although a later biographical summary describes her as a midfielder.[3](https://www.hockey.de/vvi-web/teams-dhb/2000/a-damen/0525_Kader_links.asp)
She made her international debut era in 1998 and earned 83 caps, scoring nine goals, through 2004.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/91811) The Bavarian hockey association's chronicle records her national-team span as 1998 to 2004 with 83 field appearances and her greatest success as the 2004 Olympic title.[4](https://hockeydialog.de/vvi-web/Bayern/Downloads.de/chroniken/file/Chronik-komplett-web.pdf)
## Major tournaments
**European Championships.** At the 1999 European Championship in Cologne, Casaretto was a member of the German squad that took the silver medal behind the Netherlands.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/91811) • [3](https://www.hockey.de/vvi-web/teams-dhb/2000/a-damen/0525_Kader_links.asp) She entered the tournament mid-competition: with striker Inga Möller injured, the Munich player was brought into the team for the match against England.[5](https://www.tagesspiegel.de/sport/uber-england-zum-gold-deutsche-hockey-damen-stehen-im-halbfinale-612235.html) Four years later she won bronze at the 2003 European Championship in Barcelona and also added the Champions Trophy that year.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/91811) She had earlier played in the 1999 Champions Trophy in [Amstelveen](https://www.edgepedia.org/amstelveen), where she appeared in the final-stage match against Argentina.[6](https://fih.altiusrt.com/matches/1891)
**Olympic Games.** At Sydney 2000 the German women finished seventh.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/91811) At Athens 2004 the team won the gold medal, Germany's first in Olympic field hockey since Barcelona 1992, and Casaretto scored in the tournament: the FIH match record credits her with a penalty-corner goal in the 59th minute of Germany's game against Korea.[7](https://www.fih.hockey/events/olympic-games/women/2004-womens-olympic-games-97/live-scores/germany-vs-korea-2511) • [8](https://olympics.fandom.com/wiki/Field_Hockey_2004) After the victory the German team was named Team of the Year in Germany, and all its members received the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt, Germany's highest sports award.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/91811) Casaretto received the decoration on 16 March 2005 at the ceremony in Berlin for medalists of the 2004 Olympic and [Paralympic Games](https://www.edgepedia.org/paralympic-games).[9](https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/service/newsletter-und-abos/bulletin/grusswort-von-bundespraesident-horst-koehler-795658)
## Life after playing
She trained as a primary school teacher, a profession already noted in her 2000 national-team profile, and by 2009, at about age 30, told young players at a Münchner SC club event that she had stopped playing because she was now a teacher.[2](https://www.bayernhockey.de/VVI-web/DHB/NewsLetter/HD00-5.pdf) • [10](https://www.muenchner-sportclub.de/download/saison/MSC_Saison_0910.pdf) Under her married name, Caroline Specht, a 2016 report placed her living with her family in the Nürnberg area while working as a primary school teacher; the earlier biographical summary had described her as teaching in Munich.[11](https://www.ovb-online.de/sport/beim-hockey-spuert-olympischen-spirit-solch-einen-sport-darf-streichen-6668930.html)
## References
1. [Caroline Casaretto, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/91811)
2. [Steckbrief Caroline Casaretto, DHB Hockey-Newsletter 5/August 2000](https://www.bayernhockey.de/VVI-web/DHB/NewsLetter/HD00-5.pdf)
3. [Deutsche Hockey-Nationalmannschaften, Damen-Kader 2000, hockey.de](https://www.hockey.de/vvi-web/teams-dhb/2000/a-damen/0525_Kader_links.asp)
4. [Bayerische Nationalspielerinnen, Hockeydialog Chronik](https://hockeydialog.de/vvi-web/Bayern/Downloads.de/chroniken/file/Chronik-komplett-web.pdf)
5. [Über England zum Gold, Der Tagesspiegel, 24 August 1999](https://www.tagesspiegel.de/sport/uber-england-zum-gold-deutsche-hockey-damen-stehen-im-halbfinale-612235.html)
6. [1999 Women's Champions Trophy, Germany vs Argentina, FIH match archive](https://fih.altiusrt.com/matches/1891)
7. [Germany vs Korea, 2004 Women's Olympic Games live scores, FIH](https://www.fih.hockey/events/olympic-games/women/2004-womens-olympic-games-97/live-scores/germany-vs-korea-2511)
8. [Field Hockey 2004, Olympics Wiki](https://olympics.fandom.com/wiki/Field_Hockey_2004)
9. [Grußwort von Bundespräsident Horst Köhler, Verleihung des Silbernen Lorbeerblatts, 16 March 2005](https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/service/newsletter-und-abos/bulletin/grusswort-von-bundespraesident-horst-koehler-795658)
10. [MSC Saisonheft 2009/2010, Münchner Sport-Club](https://www.muenchner-sportclub.de/download/saison/MSC_Saison_0910.pdf)
11. [„Beim Hockey spürt man den Olympischen Spirit“, ovb-online.de, 17 August 2016](https://www.ovb-online.de/sport/beim-hockey-spuert-olympischen-spirit-solch-einen-sport-darf-streichen-6668930.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Hockey and remaining team sports › Field hockey › German field hockey players*
*Initially written Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license