Sat against the advertising hoardings in Valencia, Maddie Hinch put a hand over her sweat-induced hair and breathed a sigh of relief and joy in equal measure.
GB women had just qualified, in 2015, for the Rio Olympics before racking up a first ever tournament success by winning all their seven matches. Danny Kerry’s side had danced a merry jig Copacabana style at the Campo de Hockey, led by Kate Richardson-Walsh. “The sheer pressure of Olympic qualification ain’t pretty,” Kerry had admitted afterwards.
Speaking to Hinch to garner her reaction, however, has always stuck out of the many interviews I’ve conducted with this bubbly, brilliant and intelligent athlete over the years.
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I first saw Maddie play in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow when England suffered heartbreak in the final with seconds to go. I believe she and many of that team used that experience when playing for GB in Rio. We’ll never forget Maddie’s heroics in goal helping GB win gold. I had so many non-hockey friends say to me and other hockey friends ‘you must be happy’…an understatement! Quite appropriately I last saw her play at Birmingham 2022 for England’s gold medal team. She has done so much to raise the profile of hockey in the UK and beyond, and has totally changed the perspective of goal keeping. Wishing her continued success with both her club hockey and her GK coaching business. When will we see the first Maddie Hinch coached international
GK.