Exclusive Hockey’s golden girls relive their Rio glory
Three Rio Olympic hockey champions, Alex Danson, Sophie Bray and Hollie Webb, tell Harry Yorke the inside story of the gold medal that captivated the nation
Harry Yorke The women’s hockey squad have been back from Rio for a few days now – how do you feel about what you achieved by winning gold?
Alex Danson It has been an incredible few weeks. When we got off the plane I don’t really think it had sunk in yet. As we came into the arrivals lounge, you could hear the overhead speaker announcing the names of the new Olympic medallists. It was utterly surreal. Winning bronze at London 2012 was a truly special achievement, being surrounded by your friends and family, and we can be really proud of that. But to come to Rio and win a gold medal – in the manner we did, winning every game – it was a dream come true.
HY This is your third Games, Alex. You have seen this team grow from finishing sixth in 2008 to win Olympic bronze, then Commonwealth silver and now this. What is it about this squad and, in particular, the past two years, that has propelled you to where you are now?
AD We have had this ethos around the squad and the players since Danny Kerry’s return [as coach in 2014], a gold mentality, to approach every aspect of our preparation, our game, with the best possible mindset. Our mantra was simple: be the difference, create history and inspire the future. We felt if we could deliver on those things – being diligent in what we do and taking our role as hockey players to a new professional level – we could embed a winning culture.
Sophie Bray The moment that stands out in many of our eyes was the half-time whistle in our first [group] game against Australia. We all ran off the pitch and as we passed the Australians, all of whom were walking, heads down, tired and bent over, I had goose bumps because we knew we could accomplish something special.
HY How important was Danny Kerry’s return to your success?
AD There was a real resurgence in Danny on his return. He is a fantastic coach, the best tactician in the sport. His vision is complemented by a team filled with very intelligent players, so we were able to implement what he asked us to do. Danny also shared a passion and enthusiasm for the game with a bunch of women who are equally driven for success, so he always believed gold was possible this time around.
Hollie Webb Danny’s approach of looking at marginal gains – the theory of breaking down the building blocks of our game and looking at how we can improve every element – was crucial. “Being the difference” was turning up 10 minutes early for training, never missing a gym session, committing to the programme and schedules. Looking at all of the details added up to making us the tightest, hard-working and tactically astute team that we could put together. HY Hollie, what was going through your head as you stepped up to take what proved to be the winning penalty in the shoot-out that decided the final? HW I wasn’t nervous at all, which I know is very odd. Even when the others were taking theirs and Maddie [Hinch] was in goal, I believed in all the practice that we had done prior to the match, so was pretty calm. We had done our homework on their keeper, so we knew what she would do and responded accordingly. We had beaten the Dutch two years running on penalties, so I knew we were capable. I knew what I was going to do. I just forgot the context of the moment and pretended I was at Bisham Abbey – our training ground. HY Over the last four years you have worked closely with a sports psychologist to help prepare mentally for the big occasion. How crucial was that?
SB It has been an incredibly important aspect of our training, learning to overcome anxieties that can otherwise prevent you from playing to your best. It is the biggest factor in our sport, and to have that support as a team has been critical. At the Olympics, everyone is extremely talented and physically capable; the difference is your ability to rise above everyone else mentally.
HB They work with us on both a group and individual basis, so it has been fundamental in helping us to shape harmony between the players, to create an environment we all can excel in. That’s what set us apart.
HY There have been suggestions that UK Sport’s Lottery funding does not represent good value for money. What would you say to those who criticise the investment in elite athletes?
‘We want Britain to be a nation where hockey matters, where people pick up a stick and go down to a club’
AD Without the UK National Lottery and our partnership with Investec, we could not have achieved what we accomplished in Rio. When I first represented Great Britain we had no funding, and we were all either working or studying full-time. We were up at five, we were training late, whereas now we are professional, we approach the sport with a different outlook. As kids, we never dreamt we could be full-time athletes – and you can’t be without that level of support.
HW These partnerships are integral to our success. They allow us to be the best athletes, and we will not win on the world stage unless we have the support to train full-time. The Olympics have given people around the country huge pride over what Team GB accomplished, and sport is fundamental to inspiring young people and getting people to be active. HY How have your families coped since you won gold? SB Thankfully my parents and my brother were able to come to Rio, and to stand on top of the podium knowing your family were in the stadium watching was incredible. My grandma was at home watching us every night. She gave herself a cold staying up so late watching all the Games. She was at the airport when I touched down and to see her face in the arrivals lounge made it all worthwhile.
HW Unfortunately my family were not able to come to Rio, but my parents are just overwhelmed. My mum’s phone has not stopped ringing, with people she has not heard from in years. It really gives you a glimpse at the support that has rallied behind us at the Games. I am getting married next September, so my boyfriend and I are happy we made the decision to postpone until next summer. And now I have something else to look forward to.
HY When London 2012 came along the idea was always to use it as a springboard for greater participation in sport. Do you think these Games will help in that effort?
AD One of our aims was to inspire the future, and going forwards we must push to increase grass-roots participation in hockey and sport on a wider level. We want Britain to be a nation where hockey matters, where people pick up a stick, get down to the local club and get involved. In 2018 we are hosting the Hockey World Cup, so ensuring that we can inspire as many people as possible will be key. PE in primary schools is also crucial. Kids need to be physically literate and to be given proper sports equipment from an early age.
SB After winning, I got loads of messages from school friends saying thank you for bringing them together again. That’s the beauty of team sport, and something we should look to encourage where we can. It makes our sport worthwhile.
HW Grass-roots participation must be the focus. We all took to the game in different ways, at different ages, so making sure that as many people are engaging with the game – at all ages – the more our sport will progress.
HY Apart from winning Great Britain’s first gold medal in women’s hockey, what other defining memories will you bring home from Rio?
HW The funny thing is that we never felt unsafe in Rio, despite the media reports. That partly was due to the fact we rarely ventured out because of our training commitments, but also because of the precautions taken by the BOA [British Olympic Association]. It was an incredible city.
AD It was such a different Games from four years ago. London 2012 had such a heart to it, but then Rio, it’s such an iconic place, it was so beautiful. The atmosphere was fantastic, although it wasn’t always overflowing, we felt we had real support in every game. They were very different experiences. The pressure was less overbearing, too. Whereas in London we were just massively relieved to have won a medal after 26 years of waiting, in Rio we were able to just focus on each game as it came.
HY How did you cope surrounded by sports stars from across the world in the Olympic Village?
HW At first it was surreal, walking past the likes of Usain Bolt and Sonny Bill Williams, often I would feel rather overwhelmed. But by the end you grew used to walking past Bradley Wiggins eating breakfast. You speak to these people and you realise that they are just normal like everybody else.
SB It was great that in Team GB you just had everybody getting behind each other. Andy Murray was particularly encouraging, he was really enthusiastic and wanted to follow us and see how we were getting on.
HY Returning home on a flight filled with medal-winning members of Team GB, did you get a sense of why Britain has achieved so much over the last four years at back-to-back Games?
AD As we were drinking and enjoying ourselves, the defining moment came when we all stood up and sang the national anthem. It really encapsulates what makes Team GB so special, that sense of wanting to inspire your country, to do everyone at home proud. It was that sense of pride I will remember, singing and celebrating with the rest of the team on the way home.
SB I don’t know where the 10 hours went really, although there were only a couple of hours of celebrating. The rest of it we spent sleeping. It had been a rather tiring week!