Brunel Sports Sciences graduate Kate Richardson-Walsh, captain of Team GB Hockey Women’s Team, won the first ever Olympic gold for the women’s GB hockey team at Rio 2016.
In recognition of her achievements, Kate received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the New Year’s Honours list 2017. She was also shortlisted for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2016 following her penalty shoot out victory in the Olympic final against the Netherlands.
Kate wasn’t the only Brunel success story in Rio. Amber Luzar, who became performance analyst for England and GB Hockey in 2014 (just two years after graduating), was part of the background staff preparing the team for Olympic glory.
Amber credits her time at Brunel with helping her to develop the right skills to succeed in her career. She said: “A career in elite sport is difficult, but Brunel provided a learning environment to develop practitioners who could go on to lead expert athletes in major sporting events. You could learn from the best, with the best equipment that mirrored that used in the sporting arena.”
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