Frozen In Time

A year on from scoring Olympic gold at Rio 2016, three of the GB women’s hockey squad stars are far from hanging up their sticks. Clive Youlton discovers how their legacy continues at their Surbiton home club.

- Clive Youlton

IT remains a moment frozen in time. A movement forward to the right, a switch to the left, before a decisive swivel and eventual strike, which unerringly finds its target. At the instant the net bulged, the memory fades for one of three of Surbiton Hockey Club’s international stars – the hero of the hour. The following moments of mayhem are just a blur for Hollie Webb, who will forever be remembered as the woman who fired in that spine-tingling penalty shuffle winner as Great Britain’s women beat the Netherlands to scoop glorious Olympic gold.

For the National Lottery-funded GB squad, sponsored by Investec, it was a monumental accomplishment. For two of her Surbiton team-mates, Giselle Ansley and Sarah Haycroft - like Hollie in their mid-20s - the experience is memorable, albeit in very different ways. All three do their best to ensure the legacy is built upon and hockey continues to boom.

A year on from Rio 2016 and Hollie admits she doesn’t think her feat has hit home: “I don’t think it will sink in until I retire from hockey,” she explains. “Not just the Olympics but all of it. I always dreamed I’d play senior hockey but never imagined it would actually happen. So I still can’t believe I got one cap, let alone more than 100, and an Olympic gold medal.”

The smile on her face cracks wide open at the mention of winning that ultimate prize. “I remember exactly how I felt and exactly my approach,” she continues, while reflecting on THAT historic goal. “It was sort of in slow motion, those eight seconds. Then as soon as the ball went into the back of the net, it [the memory] goes a little hazy.”