ObjectivesThis study described the deceleration efforts of the Australian men’s field hockey team during the 2016 Olympics by categorising efforts into ‘bands’ of intensity; and comparing the deceleration intensity and frequency by player position, game period and opponent. DesignDescriptive retrospective analysis. MethodsGlobal positioning system sensors (MinimaxX S4, Catapult Sports Pty. Ltd., Melbourne, Australia; 10Hz) were worn by 15 male field hockey players during six games of the 2016 Olympic tournament. ResultsThere were 8998 individual deceleration efforts (≤−3ms−2) performed over the tournament with the most intense effort measured at −13.6ms−2. Deceleration intensity ‘bands’ were calculated using Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves as low intensity=−3 to −5.99ms−2; medium intensity=−6 to −8.99ms−2; high intensity=−9 to −11.99ms−2; and, very high intensity=<−12ms−2. There were no significantly different decelerations between field positions but decelerations performed within game period one were more intense than game period two (−0.11±0.01ms−2, p<0.001). Deceleration efforts were more frequent in game period one than two [X2(3, N=8997)=12.00, p=0.007]. ConclusionsDecelerations are common in elite field hockey and very high intensities are present. These findings, in conjunction with other metrics can be used as a tool to monitor the load associated with training and match play in field hockey.