Helen Richardson-Walsh
MBE
Helen Richardson-Walsh in 2011
Personal information
Birth nameHelen Richardson
Born (1981-09-23) 23 September 1981
Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight55 kg (121 lb)
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2013)​
Sport
Country Great Britain
 England
SportField hockey
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2016 Rio de JaneiroTeam
Bronze medal – third place2012 LondonTeam
Champions Trophy
Silver medal – second place2012 Rosario
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place2002 ManchesterTeam
Bronze medal – third place2006 MelbourneTeam
Bronze medal – third place2010 DelhiTeam
World Cup
Bronze medal – third place2010 Rosario
Champions Trophy
Bronze medal – third place2010 Nottingham
EuroHockey Nations Championship
Gold medal – first place2015 London
Silver medal – second place2013 Boom
Bronze medal – third place1999 Cologne
Bronze medal – third place2005 Dublin
Bronze medal – third place2007 Manchester
Bronze medal – third place2009 Amstelveen
Bronze medal – third place2011 Monchengladbach
Champions Challenge
Gold medal – first place2002 Johannesburg
Bronze medal – third place2007 Baku

Helen Richardson-Walsh, MBE (née Richardson, born 23 September 1981) is an English hockey player who plays as a midfielder.[1] She has been a member of both the England and the Great Britain women's field hockey teams since 1999, and was a member of the Great Britain team that won gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[2]

Early life

Helen Richardson was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire[1] and grew up in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire[3] with her 3 older brothers. She began playing hockey at a young age, joining West Bridgford Hockey Club at the age of seven.[4] She initially attended Uphill Primary school in Weston Super-Mare[5] before returning to her home town of West Bridgford where she attended West Bridgford School and South Nottingham College.[6] Richardson-Walsh started a degree course in Human Biology at Aston University in 2000[7] but did not complete the course.

International hockey career

Richardson-Walsh achieved 293 international caps for England and Great Britain, making her at the point of her retirement, the 5th most capped GB player in the history of the women's game. She represented Great Britain at the Sydney, Beijing, London and Rio Olympic Games. Career highlights include an Olympic Gold (2016) and Bronze medal (2012),[8] European Gold medal (2015), World Cup Bronze medal (2010), Champions Trophy (2012) and Commonwealth Games (2002) Silver medals.

Richardson-Walsh won her first England cap in 1999, at the age of 17.[1][4] At age 18 she was a member of the Great Britain team at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, becoming the youngest female hockey player to represent Great Britain at an Olympic Games.[9]

Richardson was a member of the silver medal-winning England team at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.[10] After the 2002 World Cup she underwent three operations on her ankle, returning to the sport in 2004.[11]

Richardson won bronze medals with the England team at the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games.[10] She competed in her second Olympics in 2008,[12] where Great Britain did not advance to the semi-finals.[13]

Richardson was part of the Great Britain team that won the bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics in London,[10] captaining the team for two games after regular captain Kate Walsh broke her jaw in the opening match.[1] Between 2013 and 2014, she underwent surgery twice for spinal disc herniation.[14] She was left out of the England squad for the 2014 World Cup,[15] but returned to international hockey with the Great Britain team in April 2015.[16] In August 2015, she was part of the England team that won the EuroHockey Nations Championship for the first time, scoring a penalty in the gold medal match penalty shoot-out against the Netherlands.[17]

Richardson-Walsh was a member of the Great Britain team that won the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, the first time that Great Britain had won gold in women's hockey.[18] She scored one of Great Britain's two penalties in the deciding penalty shoot-out in the final against the Netherlands.[18]

Domestic hockey career

Richardson-Walsh's first club was West Bridgford Hockey Club in Nottingham which she joined aged 7. She progressed to play for Sherwood Hockey Clubs before joining Leicester Hockey Club.[10]

After the 2008 Olympics, she spent a year playing for HC Den Bosch in the Netherlands before returning to England,[19] after which she played for Reading Hockey Club for seven years.[20] In 2016, Richardson-Walsh announced that she would leave Reading Hockey Club with her wife Kate to join HC Bloemendaal in the Netherlands after the Olympics,[20] and suggested that she would retire from international hockey.[21] In June 2017, Richardson-Walsh and her wife returned from HC Bloemendaal after helping the team maintain their place in the Hoofdklasse.

Richardson-Walsh announced she had signed for Cambridge City Hockey Club on a 12-month contract for the 2017–18 season. The women's team plays in the Investec Women's League, Conference East and the club is chaired by her brother Andy Richardson.[22] In 2018, Richardson-Walsh confirmed that she would play for another season at CCHC, as well as taking on an Assistant Coaching role at the club. Richardson-Walsh became Head Coach for Cambridge City Hockey Club for the 2019-20 season.[23]

In December 2017, Richardson-Walsh and her wife Kate both signed for East Grinstead Hockey Club for the Jaffa Super Sixes indoor hockey season.[24]

Other career and voluntary work

Between 2012 and 2016, Richardson-Walsh held the role of a ‘Sky Sports Living For Sport Athlete Mentor’ as part of the Youth Sport Trust

In July 2014 during a break from hockey caused by injury, Richardson-Walsh volunteered in Bali teaching English to fishermen and their families and participating in a coral re-building programme.

As a lifelong Spurs fan, Richardson-Walsh is a patron of the Proud Lilywhites, the official LGBT association of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (2014 – current).[25] Richardson-Walsh is also an Ambassador for Access Sport, a charity whose mission is to give more children, particularly in disadvantaged areas, access to a wide range of quality local sport (2014 – current).[26]

Richardson-Walsh was part of the commentary team for the 2017 Eurohockey championships, along with her wife Kate, which was broadcast on BT Sport.[27] She also provided hockey commentary and analysis for BBC Sport and Radio 5 Live at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and analysis for the 2018 World Cup on BT Sport.

For the 2017–18 academic year, Richardson-Walsh joined The Perse School in Cambridge as a part-time Games Coach.[28]

Richardson-Walsh was selected to be an Athlete Role Model for the Youth Olympic Games which will take place in Bunoes Aires, Argentina in 2018. She will be representing hockey and Team GB, providing workshops, taking part in Q&A session and advising young athletes.[29]

Richardson-Walsh has completed a degree in psychology with the Open University.[30] As of October 2019, she is studying for a masters in institutional psychology.

Awards

In 2009, she was shortlisted for the International Hockey Federation's World Player of the Year Award and has been named in the FIH World All Stars Team three times, in 2009, 2010 and 2011.[31]

In 2009 and 2010, she was named as Player of the Year by the Hockey Writers' Club[32]

In 2009, 2011 and 2016, she was awarded the Majorie Pollard Salver, making her the first player to receive the award three times.[33][34]

In 2009, she was named as the BOA Athlete of the Year by Great Britain Hockey.[6]

Following her Gold Medal success Richardson-Walsh has received various awards and accolades from her home city of Nottingham, including; Nottingham City Transport naming a bus after her,[35] local Brewery 'Magpie Brewery Archived 16 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine' creating a guest ale 'Golden Hels' in her honour and receiving The Nottingham Sportswoman of the Year Award.[36] In 2017 Richardson-Walsh also won the Sports Person of the Year in the Sport Nottinghamshire Awards.[37]

In the 2017 New Year Honours, Richardson-Walsh was awarded an MBE for services to hockey. Her wife and teammate Kate received an OBE, making them the first same-sex married couple to be honoured in the same list.[38]

Helen and Kate Richardson-Walsh were awarded the National Lottery Spirit of Sport Award at the 2017 annual Sports Journalist's Association (SJA) British Sports Awards.[39]

Personal life

In 2008, Richardson-Walsh began a relationship with her Great Britain and England teammate Kate Walsh.[1] They married in 2013, and both adopted the surname Richardson-Walsh.[40] In September 2019, Richardson-Walsh announced on social media that she was pregnant with the couple's first child, with the child being due at the end of the year. On 31 December 2019, Richardson-Walsh gave birth to a daughter named Pfeiffer.

Both Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh were members of the gold medal-winning Great Britain team at the 2016 Olympics;[18] this made them the first same-sex married couple to win Olympic gold as part of the same team, and the first British married couple to win gold as part of the same team since 1920.[41]

Helen Richardson-Walsh's father coaches Winscombe Ladies Hockey Club, where Richardson-Walsh's younger half-sister Gabby[42] is a first team player. She has three older brothers, including Andy Richardson, who is the Chairman of Cambridge Hockey Club,[43] and Steven Richardson, who plays for Wimbledon Hockey Club.

Richardson-Walsh has spoken about mental health issues including her experiences of depression in 2008 and 2014.[44]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "England's Kate Richardson-Walsh on marrying her team-mate". BBC Sport. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  2. ↑ "Helen RICHARDSON-WALSH". Olympics.com. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  3. ↑ Harris, Cathy (7 July 2010). "Helen Richardson happy to stick around at home". The Times. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Helen Richardson-Walsh – Sky Sports Living for Sport". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  5. ↑ "Chance to meet Team GB gold medal winner Helen Richardson-Walsh". Somerset Live. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Helen Richardson named Great Britain Hockey Athlete of the Year". Fédération Internationale de Hockey. Archived from the original on 29 May 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  7. ↑ "Student Story: Helen Richardson-Walsh, Olympic Champion | OU Sport & Fitness Team Blog". www.open.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  8. ↑ "Helen RICHARDSON-WALSH". Olympics.com. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  9. ↑ "Helen Richardson-Walsh – GB Hockey". Great Britain Hockey. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Helen Richardson, GB Hockey Athlete of the Year". England Hockey. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  11. ↑ Middleton, Claire (13 December 2004). "Richardson goal is just reward". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  12. ↑ Nichols, Peter (16 August 2008). "Olympics: Hockey – Britain's women defeat Japan 2–1 but now rely on others if they wish to progress". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  13. ↑ Campbell, Jeremy (18 August 2008). "Olympics, Beijing 2008 hockey: goalless draw ends GB women's medal hopes". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  14. ↑ "Team GB Exclusive: The ongoing Richardson-Walsh rollercoaster". Team GB. 18 June 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  15. ↑ "England's Helen Richardson-Walsh to miss Hockey World Cup". BBC Sport. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  16. ↑ "Helen Richardson-Walsh back in Great Britain squad to play Japan". BBC Sport. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  17. ↑ Simpson, Christopher (30 August 2015). "EuroHockey Championship 2015 Women's Final: England vs. Netherlands Score, Recap". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  18. 1 2 3 "Rio Olympics 2016: GB women win first hockey gold on penalties". BBC Sport. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  19. ↑ "Hockey Writers' Club honour English elite". Fédération Internationale de Hockey. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  20. 1 2 "Hockey: Reading duo Helen and Kate Richardson-Walsh to leave the club". Reading Chronicle. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  21. ↑ Gibson, Owen (20 August 2016). "Kate Richardson-Walsh: 'To win an Olympic medal with your wife next to you is so special'". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  22. ↑ Mason, Aaron (4 August 2017). "Massive coup as Olympic gold medallist signs for Cambridge City". cambridgenews. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  23. ↑ "Helen Richardson-Walsh becomes head coach at Cambridge City Hockey Club". Cambridge Independent. 10 May 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  24. ↑ "Jaffa Super 6s gets under way! – England Hockey". www.englandhockey.co.uk. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  25. ↑ "Welcome to the Proud Lilywhites". Welcome to the Proud Lilywhites. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  26. ↑ "Helen Richardson-Walsh". Access Sport. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  27. ↑ "Rabo EuroHockey Championships, Where to Watch?". eurohockey.org. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  28. ↑ "Olympians Glenn Kirkham and Helen Richardson-Walsh join Perse sport staff | The Perse School Cambridge". The Perse School Cambridge. 8 September 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  29. ↑ "Hockey legends confirmed as Athlete Role Models for YOG 2018 | FIH". www.fih.ch. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  30. ↑ "Rio Olympics: Helen Richardson-Walsh overcomes fitness problems to boost Great Britain's hockey hopes". Local Berkshire. 31 July 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  31. ↑ "Helen Richardson-Walsh – GB Hockey". www.greatbritainhockey.co.uk. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  32. ↑ "Lewers and Hinch win UK hockey player of the year awards | Hockey Writers' Club". www.hockeywritersclub.com. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  33. ↑ "Helen Richardson-Walsh wins Marjorie Pollard Salver | Hockey Writers' Club". www.hockeywritersclub.com. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  34. ↑ "Simon Mason and Helen Richardson | Hockey Writers' Club". www.hockeywritersclub.com. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  35. ↑ "Tickets please! – England Hockey". www.englandhockey.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  36. ↑ "Awards Archive – 2016 Nottingham Sports Awards". 2016 Nottingham Sports Awards. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  37. ↑ Nottinghamshire, Sport. "Sports Person of the Year Finalists". Sport Nottinghamshire. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  38. ↑ "New Year Honours list 2017: Andy Murray becomes Britain's youngest modern knight, plus who got what in the awards?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  39. ↑ "Froome, Cockroft and England women cricketers take SJA prizes – Sports Journalists' Association". www.sportsjournalists.co.uk. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  40. ↑ Wright, David (4 September 2013). "Reading's Olympic hockey stars Helen Richardson and Kate Walsh to marry". Get Reading. Archived from the original on 16 September 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  41. ↑ "Rio 2016 hockey: Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh celebrate 'special' win". BBC Sport. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  42. ↑ "Gabby Richardson – First XI – Winscombe Ladies Hockey Club". www.pitchero.com. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  43. ↑ "Contact – Cambridge City Hockey Club". www.cambridgecityhc.org. Archived from the original on 29 May 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  44. ↑ "Helen Richardson-Walsh: GB hockey player talks about depression". BBC Sport. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
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