Born in
Nelson to Nicolaas and Adele McLaren, Anita Punt is of
Dutch descent through her father and holds dual New Zealand and Dutch citizenship. She attended
Waimea College in nearby
Richmond, before moving to
Wellington at age 18 to focus on her hockey with the Capital National Hockey League team. McLaren was first selected for the Black Sticks Women in June 2009, along with ten other players as the Black Sticks squad was overhauled following its last place finish at the
2008 Beijing Olympics. She played her first match for New Zealand on 19 June 2009 against
India in hometown Nelson. McLaren has a reputation for her speed, being touted as one of the fastest female hockey players in the world with a time over ten metres ranking her within the top eight of the Black Sticks Men's squad. In February 2013, McLaren was entered as a wildcard entry into the annual International Track Meet in
Christchurch, in which she won the 100 metres in 12.61 seconds (on a grass track and with a strong 2.9 m/s headwind), beating many seasoned New Zealand track athletes. She later won the 100 metres and 200 metres at the Porritt Classic in Hamilton, before competing in the New Zealand Track and Field Championships in March 2013 in Auckland. However, McLaren was off pace and came fifth in the 100 metres, with a time of 12.23 seconds (wind +0.1 m/s). , McLaren resided on the
North Shore of
Auckland. She is a retail assistant by trade, McLaren announced her retirement from international hockey in October 2018. She subsequently headed the sport department at
King's College in Auckland. ==References==