Maddie Hinch: GB's Olympic champion goalkeeper retires after 'fairytale' career

Hinch saved each 4 of New Zealand's shootouts to triumph Great Britain's 24th golden medal astatine Rio 2016

When Maddie Hinch saved 4 shootouts to seal Olympic hockey golden and marque British sporting history, she was not prepared for what happened next.

Hinch, announcing her planetary retirement, reflected connected the "weight of the gold" aft the "fairytale" successful Rio.

"It's a portion of my beingness I'll ever conflict to comprehend," she said.

"But I consciousness incredibly grateful to beryllium a portion of the aureate epoch of the sport," the 34-year-old told BBC Sport.

It was the archetypal clip Great Britain had won Olympic women's hockey gold, beating defending champions the Netherlands successful melodramatic fashion.

"At the opening we were each flying precocious connected adrenaline. We weren't utilized to it and we decidedly weren't acceptable for it," Hinch added.

"For the magnitude of mentation we'd done, the 1 happening we hadn't truly thought of was the fame and 'what if we bash win?'"

'It was our clip to animate people'

Hinch had a small reddish publication with notes connected the absorption for the 2016 Olympic final

Initially "riding high" aft the win, Hinch described returning to world post-Rio arsenic "overwhelming".

"I was present a sanction radical talked about, watched and followed and I felt a feeling of expectation," she said.

"I speech astir the value of the golden medal due to the fact that yes it's gold, but virtually the value I felt disconnected the backmost of that was a play I wasn't prepared for.

"For a batch of america it was overwhelming. We were being taken left, close and centre, adjacent chopping up carrots connected meal shows and it was astonishing due to the fact that it was our clip to stock what we bash and animate radical to judge it's possible.

"Going done that, I think, prepared maine amended for the aboriginal portion of my vocation successful the athletics due to the fact that without that I deliberation I perchance would person stopped with resentment. But I don't person immoderate of that."

Four months aft Great Britain's gold-medal success, Hinch was awarded an MBE successful the Queen's 2017 New Year Honours List for services to hockey.

On whether she has immoderate proposal for athletes thrown into the spotlight, she added: "Talk astir it. I spent the champion portion of a twelvemonth saying I'm fine, but much that I person to beryllium fine.

"I had the cognition I couldn't beryllium susceptible due to the fact that successful elite athletics determination is simply a cognition that vulnerability is weakness - and that's not the lawsuit astatine all.

"I would person spoken retired sooner if I could repetition that play of my life."

'I made a committedness to myself'

The three-time European medallist played 186 times for England and Great Britain aft making her planetary debut successful 2008 aged 19.

In 2018 Hinch took a interruption from planetary hockey, earlier returning for Tokyo 2020 and helping GB triumph bronze.

She added to her medal postulation past summer, erstwhile England claimed their first Commonwealth Games women's gold successful Birmingham.

That completed the afloat acceptable for the goalkeeper, who has metallic and bronze Commonwealth Games medals from Glasgow 2014 and Gold Coast 2018.

On wherefore she has chosen to discontinue now, she said: "I didn't cognize erstwhile I would consciousness that the clip is right. You person to springiness 100%, truthful for maine I would beryllium frustrated if I wasn't surviving up to that.

"I made a committedness to myself that erstwhile I'm nary longer putting 100% in, past I'll halt and manus the fig 1 garment implicit to idiosyncratic else."

What is adjacent for Hinch?

"I'm inactive competing for my nine successful the Netherlands [HC Tilburg], truthful I've got different 10 oregon truthful games of hockey and past we'll see," she said.

"I don't cognize if they volition beryllium my past games, oregon if I'll travel backmost to the English leagues. I'm going to publication a summertime vacation first!

"I privation to springiness much of my clip to my institution [a coaching business] due to the fact that the assemblage astir goalkeepers is simply a peculiar 1 and I've lone truly been capable to animate from the pitch.

"I would besides similar to spell retired determination and spot what beingness has to offer. I'd similar to trial the waters."

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