PROUD PARENTS OF TOKYO STAR LEAH
Hockey star missed out on Beijing
A STAFFORDSHIRE Moorlands couple will be watching the Olympics in Tokyo on television with extra pride after their daughter was chosen to be part of the GB team.
Leah Wilkinson, whose parents Anne and Terry Morgan live at Back of Ecton near Wetton has been selected for the GB Womens Hockey Team.
Leah, 34, has played hockey since she was five, following in the footsteps of sporting parents and grandparents.
She went to John Port School near Derby and then on a hockey scholarship to Repton, where her prolific goalscoring led to them winning the national schools championships every year she attended.
She then went on to Loughborough University, where again her goals won them the BUSA championships, while club hockey was at Belper.
Due to her parents’ heritage, Leah chose to represent Wales at international level and has set a record with 169 caps – believed to be the most-capped Welsh sporting athlete of all time, across all sports.
She represented Wales – who she has also captained – at Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Glasgow and Gold Coast and at countless World and European Championships, but the Olympics had eluded her. Until now.
Mum Anne said: “She will be the oldest member of the squad as her Olympic journey has been one of ill-timed injuries.
“She had a passport to Beijing back in 2008 but has not let the disappointments affect her determination to become an Olympian.
“We have been with her around the world watching her play, but we are unable to go to Tokyo due to Covid-19.”
Leah is a history and politics teacher and head of year at her school in Epsom, and dad Terry added: “When she began this Olympic journey in 2019 she had a sabbatical of two terms to concentrate on being selected for what was then the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
“She was juggling both roles for a while and literally teaching Year 10 in the morning and playing for GB against India in the afternoon!
“When the Olympics were postponed she had to leave work for a year and go into the centralised lottery funded programme.
“She has a very strong work ethic though so is still teaching on her day off. She will be back there full time in September when she has lived her dream.
“We couldn’t be prouder of her, for her determination and resilience, to never give up trying.
“So, if you have a chance, watch her on the TV from Tokyo and be proud that a little part of Back of Ecton is there representing our corner of the world.”
GB Womens fixtures are: July 25 (01.30 BST) v Germany; July 26 (10.30 BST) v South Africa; July 28 (02.00 BST) v India; July 29; (11.00 BST) v Netherlands; July 31(12.45 BST) v Ireland.