Kate Richardson-Walsh

At the budding age of 11, she joined her local team Didsbury Greys Hockey Club followed by the nearest national league club Hightown Hockey Club where she was coached by the former international captain, Maggie Souyave.

Inspired by the women’s hockey team winning bronze in the 92 Olympics, Kate eventually made her international debut in the 1999 European Championships in Koln where she also became a bronze medalist alongside the likes of Helen Richardson, Karen Brown and Mandy Nicholson.

Throughout her 13 years of captaincy, Walsh faced adversity during the 2012 London Games. It was whilst playing Japan when she fractured her jaw. After successful and speedy surgery, with resilience, Kate got back onto the pitch with a protective mask and nerve-block injections to numb the pain to face the back end of the group stages.

Walsh came out to the world by beginning her relationship with international teammate Helen Richardson in 2008, they eventually married and the first same-sex married couple to win an Olympic gold medal together in the Rio Games 2016. It was the following year when the pair became two of only six existing members of the highest honour in English hockey.