{{short description|Welsh field hockey player (born 1998)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Use British English|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox field hockey player | name = Jacob Draper | image = | alt = | caption = | full_name = Jacob Benjamin Draper | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1998|7|24|df=y}} | birth_place = Cwmbran, Wales | weight = 74 kg | position = Defender | years1 = | clubs1 = Gwent HC | years2 = {{0|0000}}–2018 | clubs2 = Preston HC | years3 = 2018–2019 | clubs3 = Cardiff & Met | years4 = 2019–2021 | clubs4 = Hampstead & Westminster | years5 = 2021–2022 | clubs5 = Beerschot | years6 = 2022–2023 | clubs6 = Hampstead & Westminster | years7 = 2023–2025 | clubs7 = Pinoké<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pinoke.nl/site/default.asp?Option=51&Nieuws=7800 |title=Heren 1 versterkt zich met GB International Jacob Draper en Chiel van Oostendorp vanuit de jeugd |trans-title=Men 1 strengthened with GB International Jacob Draper and Chiel van Oostendorp from the youth |website=pinoke.nl |language=nl}}</ref> | nationalyears1 = 2016–present | nationalteam1 = Wales | nationalcaps1 = 91 | nationalgoals1 = | nationalyears2 = 2016–present | nationalteam2 = GB | nationalcaps2 = 63 | nationalgoals2 = |medaltemplates = {{Medal|Country|{{fhm|Wales}}}} {{Medal|Competition|European Championship II}} {{Medal|Gold|2025 Lousada|Team}} }}

'''Jacob Benjamin Draper''' (born 24 July 1998) is a Welsh field hockey player who plays as a defender for Dutch Hoofdklasse club Pinoké and the Wales and Great Britain national teams.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.greatbritainhockey.co.uk/news.asp?itemid=47071&itemTitle=Draper+in+line+to+make+GB+debut%2C+Sanford+returns+from+injury&section=1044 |title=Draper in line to make GB debut, Sanford returns from injury |publisher=Great Britain Hockey |date=3 October 2019 |access-date=9 October 2019}}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2024 Summer Olympics.

== Biography == Draper was born in Cwmbran, Wales, and started his hockey career with Gwent HC. He then played for Preston, followed by Cardiff & Met. While at Preston, Draper made his senior debut, aged 18, for Wales on 28 August 2016, in a 5–1 win over Austria in Vienna, Austria. He played for Wales at Hockey at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast<ref>{{cite web |url=https://results.gc2018.com/en/hockey/athlete-profile-n6027976-jacob-draper.htm |title=Athlete Profile: Jacob Draper |publisher=Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation |year=2018 |access-date=9 October 2019 |archive-date=18 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218151342/https://results.gc2018.com/en/hockey/athlete-profile-n6027976-jacob-draper.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/commonwealth-games/43234341 |title=Commonwealth Games: Wales name Gold Coast Games hockey teams |website=BBC Sport |date=14 February 2018 |access-date=17 May 2025}}</ref> and 2019 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship, where they finished 6th.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.hockeywales.org.uk/senior-men-s-programme |title=Senior Men's Programme |website=hockeywales.org.uk |access-date=18 June 2021 |archive-date=18 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618212126/https://www.hockeywales.org.uk/senior-men-s-programme |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Draper left Cardiff & Met to join Hampstead & Westminster for the 2019/20 season.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thehockeypaper.co.uk/articles/2019/08/09/hockey-transfers-2019-20-latests-ins-and-outs-in-english-premier-divisions |title=Hockey transfers 2019/20: Latests ins and outs in English Premier Divisions |website=The Hockey Paper |date=9 August 2019 |access-date=17 May 2025}}</ref>

Draper was selected to represent Great Britain squad for the delayed 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.skysports.com/olympics/news/15234/12334725/team-gb-hockey-21-players-to-make-olympic-debuts-as-mens-and-womens-squads-are-named |title=Team GB hockey: 21 players to make Olympic debuts as men's and women's squads are named |website=Sky Sports |date=17 June 2021 |access-date=15 May 2025}}</ref> and was selected to represent Wales at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thehockeypaper.co.uk/articles/2022/06/15/hockey-commonwealth-games-2022-wales-select-incredibly-competitive-squads |title=Hockey Commonwealth Games 2022: Wales select 'incredibly competitive' squads |website=The Hockey Paper |date=15 June 2022 |access-date=16 May 2025}}</ref>

He joined Belgian club Beerschot for the 2021–22 season<ref>{{cite web |url=https://okey.lalibre.be/transferts-deux-britanniques-au-beerschot/ |title=Transferts : deux Britanniques au Beerschot |trans-title=Transfers: two Britons at Beerschot |website=okey.lalibre.be |language=fr |date=5 March 2021 |access-date=28 April 2021}}</ref> before joining Hampstead & Westminster in the Men's England Hockey League Premier Division for the 2022–23 season. He was part of the Welsh team at the 2023 World Cup, which was the first time in their history that Wales had appeared in the world Cup.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.studyinwales.ac.uk/2023-world-cup-india-highlights-wales-international-student-offer |title=2023 World Cup in India highlights Wales' international student offer3 Eurohockey Championships |website=Study in Wales.ac.uk |access-date=6 August 2025}}</ref>

Draper joined Pinoké in the Netherlands and was subsequently selected to represent Great Britain at the 2024 Summer Olympics.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/hockey/articles/ce99edrn13wo |title=GB hockey select Roper for fourth Olympic Games |website=bbc.com |publisher=BBC |date=18 June 2024 |access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref><ref name="Paris 2024">{{cite web |title=DRAPER Jacob |url=https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/athlete/jacob-draper_1898990 |work=Paris 2024 Olympics |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240823020659/https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/athlete/jacob-draper_1898990 |archive-date=23 August 2024}} ([https://paris2024.rtve.es/es/paris-2024/atleta/jacob-draper_1898990 alternate link])</ref> The team went out in the quarter-finals after losing a penalty shootout to India.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/articles/cy799nlnp8lo |title=GB wait for men's hockey medal goes on after shootout heartbreak |publisher=BBC Sport |access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref>

In 2025, he helped Wales win the gold medal at the European Championship II, defeating Ireland in the final.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/hockey/articles/cde39xz3z3eo |title=Wales men beat Ireland in EuroHockey II final shootout |website=FBBC Sport |date=2 August 2025 |access-date=7 August 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://fih.altiusrt.com/teams/7939#players |title=EuroHockey Championship II 2025 Men |website=FIH |access-date=7 August 2025}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{FIH}} * [https://www.greatbritainhockey.co.uk/players/gb-senior-squad/jacob-draper Jacob Draper] at Great Britain Hockey * [https://www.hockeywales.org.uk/team-5/jacob-draper Jacob Draper] at Hockey Wales * {{Team GB|4CnlmkMgKl04exMyPzpIEB}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20230510164714/https://teamwales.cymru/athlete/jacob-draper/ Jacob Draper] at Team Wales (archived) * {{2022 Commonwealth Games profile|60548}} * {{Instagram}}

{{Navboxes |title=Wales & Great Britain squads |bg=#E00000 |fg=white |bordercolor=green |list1= {{Wales FH Squad 2018 Commonwealth Games}} {{Wales FH Squad 2019 EuroHockey}} {{Wales FH Squad 2021 EuroHockey}} {{Great Britain FH Squad 2020 Summer Olympics}} {{Wales FH Squad 2022 Commonwealth Games}} {{Wales FH Squad 2023 World Cup}} {{Wales FH Squad 2023 EuroHockey}} {{Great Britain FH Squad 2024 Summer Olympics}} {{Wales FH Squad 2025 EuroHockey}} }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Draper, Jacob}} Category:1998 births Category:Living people Category:Sportspeople from Cwmbran Category:Welsh men's field hockey players Category:British men's field hockey players Category:Men's field hockey defenders Category:Hampstead & Westminster Hockey Club players Category:Men's England Hockey League players Category:Field hockey players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Category:Field hockey players at the 2024 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic field hockey players for Great Britain Category:Commonwealth Games competitors for Wales Category:Field hockey players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Category:Field hockey players at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Category:Royal Beerschot THC players Category:Men's Belgian Hockey League players Category:2023 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup players Category:Pinoké players Category:British expatriate field hockey players Category:Welsh expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Category:Welsh expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Category:21st-century Welsh sportsmen Category:Commonwealth Games field hockey players for Wales