Living the dream

GOLDEN girls . . . Nicola White, right, with her teammates Georgie Twigg & Maddie Hinch at last night's closing ceremony of the Rio Olympics

AN ordinary girl from Oldham with an extraordinary talent who followed her dream.

Olympic gold medal winner Nicola White was today still coming to terms with her and team's fantastic achievement in the Rio Olympic Games. And her family, the whole of Oldham and the whole of the nation could not be prouder.

The Team GB hockey team claimed gold in a thrilling penalty shoot-out on Friday night, and for Nicola and the team it was a dream come true, the reward for all the blood, sweat and tears to be the best.

Nicola's emotional mum Gill told the Chronicle from Rio: "This was a historic moment in hockey history and Nicola has played her part in it. Amazing."

And the praise did not stop there. Oldham Council said it planned to honour its sporting hero and Prime Minister Theresa May announced that Manchester will play host to a celebration event and parade for the Olympic and Paralympic sporting heroes in October to give the city the chance to cheer the winners.